Broken Timeline
by Snow Leopard Pasha
Summary: Something strange is happening in Ancient Egypt. Enter Mutou Yuugi, sent by the Gods to help Prince Atem sort things out-with some unexpected results! There will be slash (yaoi/boyxboy), so don't like, don't read. I don't own! R x R please! :)
1. 01-Sudden Transition

AN: Okay, so I finally got this done thanks to some encouragement and support from Howl3, so thank you! Be aware that I mixed some manga and anime elements to suit what I wanted. A few chapters have lemons, but I don't think they're too extreme, so I'll just add an AN on those chapters if someone wants to be aware there's a section they may want to skip. I only use Japanese a few times in this story, at especially emotional moments (non-romantic) between Yuugi and Atem. Please review! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

PA-HPS-YM-SK (this is my section break!)

Sudden Transition

 _It was strange, but he knew it was a dream, and yet, it wasn't one as well. After all, the Gods didn't appear in normal dreams, but here was Anubis—of all Gods!—right in front of him. While he didn't remember getting dressed, he stood there with his full regalia on, and all around him, it was dark, but not the normal, blank, empty darkness most dreams provided when there was no actual background. No, this was the seething, smoky darkness of the Shadow Realm. Hence the jackal-headed God's presence there, he was sure._

" _You must remember," Anubis told him._

" _Remember what?" he asked, frowning in confusion. He hoped he wasn't just going to be given a riddle and told to figure it out himself._

" _What is yet to come," the God replied._

 _His face screwed up in total, blank confusion. "You mean...I'm supposed to have a vision?" It was the only thing which made sense._

" _No. It is your own memory, but a memory which has not taken place yet."_

 _The words left a long silence in their wake, then he said, tone and stance rather angry at the absurdity of the statement, "I can't 'remember' something which hasn't happened yet! That's impossible for a human being!"_

" _But it cannot—"_

" _Anubis..." a woman's voice cut him off with a tired sigh. Both Anubis and he looked for the source of the voice, only to see the Goddess Isis walking up to them. "You must not forget, mortal beings live_ within _time, not outside it the way_ we _do. The young Prince cannot remember that which is yet to come unless_ we _give him the memory."_

" _Ah, I see..." Anubis murmured._

" _Why do I need it?" he asked of the woman, since she seemed to be more logical and knowledgeable than Anubis._

" _Everything will change without your other half, and your other half will be nothing to you without your memory of your time with him," Isis said. "We know the change will happen, but we cannot see either the source or the path things will take. As such, I will return your memory to you."_

 _She paused, but he knew she was going to say more, so prompted, "But?"_

" _It comes with a great burden, as there are things you are neither allowed to speak of, to change, nor to react to. You must not hate those who have not yet caused harm, for example, even though in your memory, you will have already felt such a feeling," she explained to him. "It is not your place to change those events, or you will never meet your other half, who is also your successor."_

" _My..." he began in shock, then drew in a deep breath, closed his eyes as he let it out, and opened them again to look back at her. "I understand. I'll do everything I can to sort out the memory and keep what needs to be kept to myself."_

" _Good," she agreed, then placed her hand on his forehead._

 _At first, nothing happened, but then images, sounds, places, faces, they all began pouring into his mind, all at once. His body went tense, then he screamed as tears came to his eyes and streamed down his cheeks. Everything that had happened, the good and the bad, it was all there, suddenly and overwhelming to the point of pain. As if that wasn't enough, the memories themselves were the kind which would bring a grown man to tears._

" _Yuugi...My light...My other half..." he murmured through the pain—only for complete darkness to fall around him, then light as he began waking..._

PA-HPS-YM-SK

"See ya later, Yuugi!" Jonouchi called as he ran to catch up to Honda.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, Yuugi!" Anzu added as she headed for work.

"Bye, guys!" Mutou Yuugi called to his friends as they all headed in their own directions away from the school. Sixteen-year-old Yuugi, himself, was bound for the Kame Game Shop owned by his grandfather, where he and his mother also lived. Everything was normal, and lonely, since the Other Him, the Pharaoh's spirit, had moved on to the spirit realm a few weeks ago.

As he walked, however, he felt sudden chills and began glancing around for the source—only for a black patch to open up below him. Before he had a chance to react to it, he was falling, and all he had time to do was gasp as darkness swallowed him. After only a moment, he came to a stop, and was seeing something like when they'd had duels in the Shadow Realm. He could hear some faint whispers, and strained to hear what they were saying, especially since he couldn't see anyone there.

He was about to call out for someone to show themself, but he suddenly dropped again, startling a yelp out of him—only to hear an answering yelp, followed by a groan, as he landed on someone. On someone?

"Your Highness, look out!" several voices called, some nearer than others.

Quickly, realizing he was in trouble, Yuugi started to push himself up—only to see himself, a stronger, more confident self who was a bit taller, about two years older, and had slightly darker skin. Both had violet eyes, though the older and taller of the two had crimson-violet to the pure amethyst of the smaller's, and wild, red tipped, black hair with blond bangs.

Someone he knew very well. And who apparently knew him, too.

"Yuugi!" he cried happily, sitting quickly and reaching up to pull him into a hug.

Yuugi hugged him back as he whispered, "It's so good to see you again, Other Me."

A stunned silence fell, until a young woman's voice asked, "Um, Your Highness...Do you...know that person?"

"Yes. Besides, what would you do with someone you all saw appeared here due to a portal made by the Gods? Punish them for being sent here by the Gods?" the young man still hugging Yuugi tightly commented, sounding very regal and practical at once.

"We do not know that portal was created by the Gods—" an elderly man's voice began, sounding royally angry.

"Actually, yes, we do. All the Priests of Anubis and Osiris would have recognized the portal as a direct path and tear to the Shadow Realm itself..." a middle-aged man's voice put in, a voice which somehow reminded Yuugi instantly of Shadi, the Priest of Anubis who had both tested and helped him many times in the past. "Basically, only Anubis, Osiris, or Isis could have opened it."

"But—" the old man began again.

"It doesn't matter, because you're not laying a hand on Yuugi, unless you intend to kill me just to get to him. It's that simple," Yuugi's lookalike replied very simply.

Silence fell again, and it sounded like there was movement, but the other young man was holding him too tightly for him to see anything more than his chest.

"Are you really sure it's okay, Your Highness?" the same young woman's voice from before asked, sounding nervous.

"It's fine, thank you, Mana," the Prince agreed, sounding more cheerful. He then put his hands on Yuugi's shoulders and pushed him back to look at him with a grin.

"So...exactly where am I and why am I here? Or wait, is this something like what happened last time, with that Zorc or whatever?" Yuugi asked of his other self.

"No, this actually is my home in this time," the other him replied in amusement. "I'm being called by a Prince's title only, after all."

The smaller of the two paused to consider that, then frowned and asked, "Then how do you know me, Other Me?"

"Because Isis and Anubis gave me those memories of what's to come a few days ago, saying I would need them," the Prince explained. "Oh, and you should remember to call me 'Atem', not by the term you did before you had my name. People will look at you strangely if you call me 'Other Me'."

"What's that...'Other Me'?" the young woman asked in confusion. "Are you Lovers?"

"Lovers?" Yuugi yelped, looking up at her—only to see the Dark Magician Girl, but in white clothes with gold hems and darker hair! He went cross-eyed at that.

"No, we aren't Lovers, Mana," Atem chuckled. "We're much closer than that, the two halves of the same coin. Literally, Yuugi is my other half."

"But that still makes it sound like you're Lovers," she answered pointedly.

"...How about this analogy, then? Yuugi is the light, and I'm the darkness. Like Ra and Osiris, opposite and in balance, necessary and important to each other, but in no way romantically inclined," Atem explained to her, struggling not to laugh.

"Huh..." Mana murmured, thinking about that for a moment. She then asked, "So exactly when did you two meet to form a bond like that? You've never been outside the Palace alone, Your Highness."

"That's a bit hard to explain, isn't it, Oth—Atem?" Yuugi asked, looking back at the other young man.

Giving his head a shake, Atem got up and offered a hand to Yuugi, which the smaller boy took. As he pulled the smaller one up, he answered with, "You'll have to ask the Gods themselves for the answer, though they may not tell you—as Isis told me, I have a burden to carry, and there are things I can't say, no matter how much I may want to. It's hard to explain the situation without saying something I'm not allowed to, so I have to just not say anything. I'm sorry, Mana."

"Ah! Don't apologize, Your Highness! I'm sorry for asking something like that! You don't have to apologize, since you're the Prince, after all!" Mana replied immediately and cheerfully, waving her hands in a kind of 'no' or 'dismissing' way.

"...That logic is flawed..." both Atem and Yuugi said at the same time, making her freeze and stare at them in shock as they looked at each other and laughed.

"Come on," Atem said, motioning Yuugi to follow him.

"Sure," Yuugi agreed, going after his lookalike. "Where are we going?"

"To my room for now," the Prince replied. "They'll probably give you a room later, once they realize you really are here, but for now, you can stay in my room—it's big enough for two, since we're used to being together, anyway."

"Yeah, okay, that's fine," the smaller agreed. He fell silent for a moment as they walked down the stone Palace halls, from outside ones supported by pillars to inside ones which were enclosed. They went up a flight of stairs and into another long hallway which had many large windows to one side. He then asked, "Hey, Atem...everything that happened...it hasn't technically happened yet, right? Not even the thief and Zorc?"

"...No, it hasn't. If it had, I would be Pharaoh, and better yet, I'd be dead," the taller answered with a sigh. "Why?"

"...What can I possibly help with? You always had to protect me before..."

"You're not weak, Yuugi. You beat me in the Rite of Succession, after all, and that's no easy feat."

"But—" the smaller boy began, sounding a bit worried and sad.

Spinning to face him, Atem caught his shoulders and turned his lookalike to look at him directly. "You can do everything I can do in all the ways that count as a Prince of Egypt, or as a Pharaoh. You're my equal, and in some things, you're my superior, or you could never have defeated me. More, there were plenty of times where you saved me, too, and I certainly haven't forgotten them. And in case Merik, Isis, and Rishid didn't tell you, by defeating me in the Rite, you gained the proper title, right, and rank as the Pharaoh, so you also have the right, the power, and the knowledge to even call on the God Beasts if you need to. Don't belittle your power."

"I can't summon!" Yuugi gasped, voice low. "I used a holographic disk, not—"

"You summoned the Atlantian dragon, didn't you?" Atem asked with a raised brow, then took Yuugi's elbow and led him the last several paces to his room.

"But that was—" the smaller of them began as Atem pulled open the door to his room and as much as dragged him into it, shutting the door behind them.

Since he'd been cut off anyway, the smaller boy looked around the room quickly, seeing how the 'bed' essentially consisted of pillows and silk blankets, all in rich reds, blues, and greens, while the folding screens made of woven grasses had been painted in mainly purples. There were devices like trunks and boxes to store objects and clothes, with only one proper dresser and a desk which was actually just a small table in one corner. The seat with it was a device basically like a drum. Finely woven tapestries hung on two of the walls, a map of the surrounding lands hung next to the door they'd entered from, and the last wall, across from the door, was all windows. Under one tapestry, the bottom of a door was visible.

It wasn't what he'd been expecting when he'd thought about Egyptian finery in the Palace, and these were areas he and his friends hadn't gotten into before for him to have seen them in Atem's memory.

"Sit," Atem said, and Yuugi looked back at him to see him sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor as he pointed at a spot a few feet away and in front of him. Basically, the place Atem was pointing at put the Prince between his smaller lookalike and the door, with Yuugi facing said door along with the Prince, himself.

Obediently, Yuugi moved over and sat down, crossing his legs the way Atem did, as he asked, "Why?"

"Listen, any time we dueled in the Shadow Realm, regardless of what you thought at the time, you were _tangibly summoning_ the monsters," the taller of them explained. "You were capable of it, and you _did_ it, many times. There was a particular energy flow you had to use to do so, and you know what that flow is, don't you?"

Pausing, Yuugi thought about that for a minute, and remembered how he'd felt every time he'd called on a monster in the Shadow Realm—and when he'd summoned the dragon. "I can remember it."

"Then, all you have to do to summon is call on the being you want to summon, by name and appearance, and force that flow. It's a combination of giving them the energy to manifest and being able to focus on and call to the particular one you need. The only thing you can't do is call on the Dark Magician or the Dark Magician Girl...or the Blue Eyes White Dragon, since all three of them are still living human beings—you can't take their souls from them while they're still alive. It makes sense, right? So, just to prove you can, call on one of the monsters and summon them to you here."

"Isn't that only for duels?"

"No."

Atem's simple answer somehow made Yuugi feel a little better, so he nodded and considered which one he would call. Once he decided, he closed his eyes to focus on the little, brown, ball of fur he wanted at his side, and called, "Kuribo!" Opening his eyes, he watched in amazement as a swirl of energy appeared in front of him, between him and Atem, a swirl which resolved into Kuribo. And as soon as Kuribo saw him, it said ' _kuri_ ' with a motion like a cheer and plastered itself to his face to hug him.

"Ah!" Yuugi yelped as Atem cracked up laughing so hard he had to hold his stomach. "Stop laughing!" the smaller boy cried indignantly as he grabbed Kuribo and pulled it off his face. Kuribo made another cheer-like motion as it gazed at him with mixed fondness and amusement. "And Kuribo, don't get in my face, okay?"

It replied with a nod-like motion and a little ' _kuri_ ', then pulled itself from his hands and latched on to his shoulder, instead.

By then, Atem had calmed down, so said, "There you go, you can summon just fine. Now, Yuugi, you have to be aware that you have to be careful in battles when you use tangible summons, because your energy is linked to them. When _they_ take damage, _you're_ going to take damage, too, but to your spirit. That damage drains away your life force, so you'll die if you take too much damage. You have to be careful."

"Then, should I not summon at all?" the smaller boy asked in concern.

The Prince shook his head. "You can summon, since other than the initial energy you use to summon, just the thing existing doesn't do anything to you. The problem only comes with taking damage."

"...Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Can I just keep Kuribo with me, then?"

"If you want." At that, Atem paused and looked away, his expression a bit nervous and worried. "Actually, it may be best if you did, just so it'll be able to protect you if someone attacks you."

"...Someone's going to?"

"Uncle Akhenaten pretty much _hates_ you, so I wouldn't put it past him to do so, and there were a few other nobles there who clearly wanted to rip you apart."

"...Oh. Then—"

Yuugi was cut off as a knock sounded on the door, followed by it being pushed open to reveal a man—who looked like the Dark Magician, but with black hair and Priest's clothing in white and gold. The thing which gave Yuugi a bit of a start was that he was wearing the Millennium Ring, which he had only ever know in the thief's hands, who had Ryou Bakura's form. "Your Highness, forgive my intrusion, but Mana just told me about the new arrival to the Palace, so I felt I should speak with you," the man said.

"Don't ask for forgiveness if you're going to do it anyway, Priest Mahad," Atem replied dryly with a frown at the man.

Rather than replying to the Prince, his eyes went to Yuugi thoughtfully—then they fell on Kuribo and he frowned as he said, "It is ill-befitting of the Prince to whimsically summon a spirit to be a playmate for a friend of yours."

"Mahad, _I_ didn't summon Kuribo—Yuugi did," Atem replied with a wickedly amused smirk. "And Kuribo's here to be his bodyguard, since there are definitely four nobles, including my uncle, who want him dead."

The older man blinked in surprise, then looked at Yuugi. With a bit of a sigh, he admitted, "It's a wise precaution, then, but it may not help for someone who has so little spiritual energy to use—he can't afford to take any damage."

Kuribo gave an angry ' _kuri_ ' shout and shot at Mahad to effectively punch him across the jaw, making Atem laugh again as Yuugi stared in horror and reached out to snatch the little ball of fur.

Mahad stared in shock and held his hand to his jaw as the smaller boy scolded Kuribo with, "You can't go and hit someone just because they say something you don't like, Kuribo! Be responsible and ignore it, since it's just words. It's only if someone tries to hurt me physically that you get to hurt them. Well, a bit."

"More than a bit, probably," the Prince put in.

"But why was Kuribo so angry about what I said?" Mahad asked. "It's true."

"Since when does Yuugi have 'so little spiritual power'? Mahad, he can beat _me_ , and even the High Priest can't do that," the Prince replied in a decidedly dry tone. "Kuribo and I both know his strength, and if you were doing more than a cursory observation and test of his power, _you'd_ know it, too."

Blinking in surprise, the man looked back at the smaller boy with an intensity which made Yuugi a little nervous, but instead of saying anything related to Yuugi's power, he asked, "Your Highness, how, exactly, do you know this boy? Mana told me about how you're two halves of the same coin, the light and the darkness, to quote your analogy, and I could somewhat understand the concept. What I don't understand is the comments you made to Yuugi in her presence of this being your 'home in this time' and of Isis and Anubis giving you the 'memories of what's to come.' To me, those words imply you know what the future holds. What kind of vision were you given in that dream of the Gods a few days ago, Your Highness?"

"Are 'memories of what's to come' visions?" Atem asked dryly in return, making the Priest blink in surprise. "Isis and Anubis were very clear on that point—they aren't visions, they're my own memories of my own future. For me, it hasn't happened yet, but it's all my own thoughts and feelings, not just a series of events. And a lot of it, I can't tell you, because I don't have the right to change that, only to change the part which shows as a blank—the part which concerns the Gods."

"Why can't you change an unfavorable event?" Mahad asked in surprise.

"...Because I know my own death, and without that event, I won't meet Yuugi. If I never meet Yuugi in the future, he won't be able to help us now," the Prince replied. "Isis also told me so. I can't _afford_ to change the most painful part of my life, which also means I can't talk about it with anyone except Yuugi, who also already knows."

The man's eyes went wide in horror as he said, "Surely you can't mean to leave those events as they are if it means you'll die! The Gods would never expect it of a mortal to leave it be!"

In reply, Atem just sighed and closed his eyes, so Yuugi said quietly, "It's because our combined power can't be defeated by anything or anyone, even the Gods. Without both of us, both the near future _and my_ future will cease to exist, and neither of us wants to see the world end. Without Atem's death...I won't exist."

Mahad looked up at Yuugi's sad eyes—and in that moment, realized what Atem had meant. His eyes went wide as he gasped, "That's...impossible! A mortal could never have so much power, let alone keep it so well-hidden!" He paused, then said to the younger boy, "I would like a trial duel with you to verify your power. Please."

Yuugi glanced at Atem, who nodded, so the younger looked at Mahad. "Okay."


	2. 02-Lessons

Lessons

Mahad led the way to a room which resembled a wide open space with two platforms, one to each side. Both platforms were very long and had stairs leading up to them from both ends, and the images on the walls were clearly ones resembling the Duel Monsters Yuugi knew quite well. In a duel which was going to be equivalent to a Shadow Realm duel, he wasn't exactly sure what the rules were, so looked at Atem, who was leading the way to one platform, even as Mahad headed for the other.

"Atem, what are the rules I have to follow in a duel?" the smaller boy asked in quiet concern, voice just loud enough for the Prince to hear. Or so he thought.

"There's no real 'order' to the duel, but it's common courtesy in this setting to wait until both of you have summoned a monster before attacking," Atem replied. "You can call on almost any being you know, assuming you know how, but there's no tribute levels—monsters don't have 'levels' in this setting. Pay attention to how tired you are, because the more tired you get, the more damage your soul has taken, and you aren't fighting to kill each other. Most of what happens here is based on your own will, from Kuribo's ability to multiply to your own ability to call a monster. Also, you may find stone tablets appearing if you call on a monster we have one for, so don't panic. And don't call on the God Beasts. Even _I'm_ not technically supposed to be able to yet."

The Prince pointed out to Yuugi where he should stand, and took up a position behind and off to one side of where the smaller boy was. Basically, far enough to not be included in the battle, but with a good view, all the same, as he watched over his nearly identical friend. Mahad took his position on the opposite platform, directly across from Yuugi, and the boy noted the position was marked with patterns which weren't on the rest of the platform.

"What _are_ you doing, and who _is_ that boy?" a new—but very familiar—voice asked, clearly frowning. When the three looked towards the door, they saw—Kaiba Seto, but in deep blue and white priest's robes and with a tall hat on his head. His eyes were dark blue, and his hair brown, but seemed to be longer than Kaiba's, hidden under his hat. He also seemed to be eighteen or nineteen to Kaiba's sixteen, almost seventeen.

"That boy is the one who came through the portal," the man beside him replied, and his voice was the one which had reminded Yuugi of Shadi before. The man even _looked_ like Shadi, just dressed in priest's attire in white and with a bald head—and he was older, both than Shadi and than Seto, Atem, and Yuugi.

"High Priest Set, Priest Shada, Priest Mahad asked Yuugi for a duel, and Yuugi agreed," Atem said to the two, behaving in full royal capacity. What that allowed him to do was 'introduce' the two to Yuugi so the smaller didn't call them by the wrong names. "Would you like to watch?"

"Wouldn't it be dangerous for a boy with so little power to hold a battle with Priest Mahad?" Shada asked in concern.

"That boy has more energy than you, me, and Mahad combined, Shada," High Priest Set replied in mild amusement, his tone a bit dry. "Hence the duel—Mahad wants to know if he's really sensing so much power coming from such a small body."

"That would be correct," Mahad agreed with a wry grin at them as Atem snickered. "How you knew it so easily, I'm not certain, but it's true the boy's initial appearance is rather deceiving." He then looked at Yuugi and asked, "Will you begin with Kuribo or call another to battle with?"

"Um...I think I'll use a different one," the smaller boy answered, then looked at the Kuribo on his shoulder. "Stay with Atem, okay, Kuribo?"

The little ball of fur made a ' _kuri_ ' sound, then flew over to Atem's shoulder as the Prince said, "Don't worry, Mahad's chances of hurting Yuugi are slim, Kuribo."

"Thank you for your confidence, My Prince," Mahad replied in dry amusement.

Atem laughed and said, "I told you, Yuugi can beat _me_. Even _my_ chances of hurting him are pretty slim."

"Then again, you won't _try_ , either," the Priest grinned. "Yuugi, you summon, first. Unless you have objections?"

"Oh, that's fine," the smallest teen agreed, then paused as he ran through a list of monsters in his mind. "Mystical Elf!" Yuugi finally decided as he focussed on her. She appeared on the lower level, standing calmly as the others looked startled.

Mahad gave a bit of a snort and asked, "Is that all?" He then paused for a moment before calling, "Komori Dragon, appear and attack the Mystical Elf!"

The small dragon had much higher attack than the Elf, Yuugi knew, so thought fast and called, "Sword and Shield!"

Below them, the Dragon collided with the Elf—and was destroyed, making the Priests all stare in shock as Atem smirked.

"I told you he wasn't weak," the Prince called to Mahad.

"Hyozanryu! Attack!" Mahad cried, and the mostly white dragon appeared to attack the Elf. That time, the Elf was destroyed.

"Red Eyes Black Dragon!" Yuugi called, thinking of Jonouchi. "Attack Hyozanryu!" The two dragons struggled for a minute, then the white one was destroyed.

"Seiyaryu, I grant you the power of a Dragon Orb! Attack the Red Eyes Black Dragon!" the Priest across from the smaller teen called.

Thinking fast, Yuugi knew he couldn't call the Blue Eyes White Dragon—but he could use the Meteor Dragon or the Summoned Skull to _make_ a stronger dragon. "Meteor Dragon! Red Eyes, Meteor Dragon, fusion! Emerge, Meteor Black Dragon!"

As the red and black dragon appeared and began fusing with the Red Eyes, everyone stared at him in complete shock, even Atem. As Seiyaryu struck the fused Dragon Yuugi had just created, it attacked back, countering the rather pink dragon—and destroying it with ease. A long, stunned silence followed the end of the attack, and Mahad didn't summon another monster, making the smaller boy frown in puzzlement.

"Is something wrong?" Yuugi asked the man in concern.

"...How is that possible? How can he create a fusion without the Scales in hand, and how could he even know the pieces to fuse or what they create?" Shada gasped. Yuugi looked over at him. "Even Karim doesn't know that fusion!"

"Huh?" the smaller boy asked. "I just did it. I know most of the Fusions—there's several dozen, all-told, and I know how 'fusion' itself works, so why shouldn't I be able to?" He then turned to look at Atem and said accusingly, "You didn't tell me not to!"

"I had no idea you'd think of doing it, or even be _able_ to do it if you did," Atem replied dryly, still looking a bit surprised. "No one here can do that."

Pausing for a minute, the smaller boy met the taller's gaze, then gave a grin and asked, "Is it that you _can't_ , or is it that you _think_ you can't? I think _you_ can, Atem, and probably the High Priest, too. Maybe _all_ the holders of the Millennium Items can."

"Don't suggest such a thing to Uncle Akhenaten, or he'll use it to kill you," the Prince told Yuugi, then shrugged and looked across the room to Mahad. "I think you'd better call it quits, Mahad. That fusion should give you a pretty good idea of Yuugi's power."

"...Yes, it does," Mahad sighed. "And I think we five should keep this to ourselves."

"That would be for the best," Set agreed with a sigh. "Forget Priest Akhenaten, the Pharaoh himself will take the boy as a threat if he has such power. I know you don't like to hear such things, Your Highness, but while your father is a good man, even _you_ recognize how much of a threat such power is to your line. If those powers get to be known, particularly if they reach the common people, it may well be you and your father are forced off the Throne in favor of Yuugi."

"But I don't _want_ the Throne," the smaller boy replied.

"Angry mobs won't give you much choice, Yuugi," Atem replied, his expression and stance a combination of wary and weary. "I know you, but _they_ don't, nor would they _care_. I can see High Priest Set's point, both about my own father and the people. It's best for you to keep the full extent of your power hidden."

"...Okay, I'll be careful. But, you'd better tell me now what other things I should only be able to do with the appropriate tools," Yuugi agreed.

"I'll do that," Set suddenly offered, making everyone turn to look at him in surprise. "I want Yuugi for lessons every morning, regardless, since I noticed one fatal flaw in his power no one else did. He's incredibly powerful, yes, but it just makes these lessons all the more required to prevent harm." His eyes then went to Atem. "Unless you plan on being obsessive about your... _friend_ , Your Highness?"

"I have no objection to it, but I'm not sure I understand what you mean, so I'll attend the first meeting tomorrow to hear the whole explanation, myself. If you really _do_ have cause for concern, by all means, teach him," Atem agreed, and the High Priest smirked.

"Come to my chambers after the morning meal, then. I'll be waiting," Set replied, then looked at Yuugi and said, "Well done in your duel, by the way." With that, he left the room.

"...There was a flaw in anything the boy did?" Shada asked in surprise, still looking at the door, even though it had already closed behind Set.

"I wonder about that as well, but the High Priest _was_ raised in the territory where Old Zahur held power," Mahad commented.

"Ah, that would explain it," Shada agreed.

"Who's Old Zahur?" Yuugi asked Atem, even as Kuribo flew back over to Yuugi's shoulder to cling to it.

"He was a Priest serving under my father until about two years ago, and his greatest strength was to see energy flows—and any flaws in them," the Prince explained. "Set came from the central temple in Zahur's territory, so he was probably trained personally by the Priest to have such a skill."

"I see," the smaller boy agreed. "So...what do we do for the rest of the day?"

"I have a tactical lesson with my father and the General after the evening meal, and we only have a candle-mark or two until then." He leaned close to Yuugi's ear and whispered, "A candle-mark is roughly an hour, by your terms." He straightened again and went on, "Once I'm done my lesson, it'll pretty much be time for bed, so you may as well spend the evening resting. As for now until supper...how about a tour of the Palace?"

"Sure, that would be great!" Yuugi agreed with a grin—and both Mahad and Shada chuckled at the boy's cheer and excitement. They were starting to legitimately like the boy, and to feel he was good for the Palace and the young Prince.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

After a mostly uneventful night where the only 'entertainment' was for Atem to introduce Yuugi to his father, it was a relief to go visit Set. Not that Atem's father had any issue with Yuugi—he actually didn't seem to care about the boy's presence—but the man was obviously a severe, strict person, and Yuugi felt a bit uncomfortable around him. Rather, the man behaved like Yuugi wasn't even worth acknowledging. Atem told his smaller friend it was actually a _good_ sign, since it meant his father had no objection to the boy being in the Palace. As such, Yuugi now had to dress like Atem, but without all the regalia.

Regardless, after the morning meal, he was happy to be able to go for the walk over to the Temple of Ra on the Palace grounds. The Prince led the way into the Temple, down a few corridors, and to a large door near the end of the hall, which he knocked on before pushing open. The room they entered had two doors off either side of it, and the far wall was entirely windows, all of which were open. Some cushions were clustered in one corner of the room, but there was also a fair-sized table in the room, surrounded by several square stools, and bookshelves lined all the free space on every wall. Many were filled with books and scrolls, mainly the latter, but some had objects, mostly religious or magical, on them.

The door to the right-hand side of the room opened and Set stepped out from there, closing the door behind him. His hat and cape weren't on, showing his long hair in a ponytail, and he carried a goblet with him, while there was a pail of water in his other hand. The pail, he set down beside the table, then put the goblet down in front of him and invited the two visitors to, "Sit."

Once the two had done so, Atem asked, "So, what's the problem, High Priest Set?"

"Simply put, it's clear that, even if you showed Yuugi how to summon, you didn't _teach_ him, not how to do it, or how to control his energy flow," Set answered, and Kuribo, on Yuugi's shoulder again, gave a questioning ' _kuri_ '.

Atem frowned and Yuugi blinked in surprise, but the Prince asked, "How can you say showing someone how to do something isn't teaching them?"

"But Atem...you _didn't_ teach me," Yuugi answered dryly, making Atem look at him in puzzlement. "The first few times I did it, _you_ had summoned the monster, then handed it to me to support. After that, from the Shadow Duels, I did it myself out of necessity." He then looked at Set and asked, "But why is that so dangerous, exactly, High Priest?"

"Because your energy flow gets out of your control, and has kinks in it," Set replied, leaning back a bit and crossing his arms. "This comes from personal experience, from when I was still fairly young and didn't realize how dangerous my own abilities could be. My mother had brought in a container of clear liquid, so I thought it was just water and started using my power to lift some of it and shape it into a ball. But, my power shot out at a bad angle and the ball went flying, only to stop right above the burning lamp—and the ball caught fire. That shocked me so much the ball was able to slip through a kink in my energy flow—and fall to the floor, on a cloth mat. The fire spread from there. The only reason our whole house didn't burn down is because Priest Zahur himself was nearby, and caught me when I ran away from the fire. He put it out—and slapped me, then took me in for training so nothing like that would ever happen again."

"And you think Yuugi would be so careless?" Atem asked with a frown.

"It's not whether he would be or not, it's the fact that anything he does, he could lose control of as long as his energy flows are the way they are," the High Priest said.

After a long silence, Atem sighed and nodded. "Yes, you have a valid concern, given your own experience. Send him back to me when you're done, then."

"See you later, Atem," Yuugi said as the Prince rose. Atem gave a wave and left the room, closing the door behind him. Yuugi then looked back at the other teen and said, "I can see your point, too, High Priest. How do I start?"

Set waved one hand in a dismissing way and said, "Call me Set, not by my title. We start with the same activity from my story, but the difference is—this is only water, not oil or something equally flammable."

"But...I can't do that," the smaller boy stared.

"Yes, you can. Anyone who can summon can do this," Set replied dryly. "Just more proof you haven't had any training."

"Then why didn't Atem ever do it, or teach me how?"

"Probably, he either didn't think he needed to or he didn't realize normal people use it as a training exercise. As the Prince, he was forced to train and control his abilities from the time he could _walk_ , but he didn't do it with simple tasks like this one. Frankly, I pity him the training he had to go through, but it means he probably just assumed you had the same training if you're strong enough to beat him."

"...Okay...so how do I do this, then?"

"Use the water in the goblet, and imagine something like a cup or ladle scooping the water out of it. From there, shape it into a ball. You can even imagine a shell, like of a ball, forcing it into such a shape. Once you know how the energy flows to do the task, you'll be able to make it lift and shape without imagining something else helping you."

At that point, the High Priest paused, and the water rose out of the goblet, shaped into a ball, then lowered itself back down into the goblet to fill it again.

"That...I _felt_ that flow of energy..." Yuugi blinked in surprise, staring at the water.

"Good. You now know how to manipulate your energy to do the task," Set told him in amusement. "So, there's your example, now give it a try for yourself." He pushed the goblet across the table to sit closer to Yuugi.

With a nod, the smaller boy began trying to lift the water, even as Set just watched him quietly and calmly. To his surprise, the water actually had a reaction from the first, creating ripples or small droplets, which made Set blink in surprise. And Yuugi was already getting a headache from the effort he had to put in.

"What?" Yuugi asked the taller teen as he took a bit of a break.

"For someone doing this for the first time, you're a remarkably quick study. When I heard you've never done it before, I was fully expecting it to take a few _days_ for you to get this much reaction," the High Priest answered in amusement. "I'm impressed. Keep working at it, and you may even be able to lift the water and start shaping it by the end of the lesson."

"Really?" Yuugi asked in surprise. When Set nodded, the smaller boy said, "I guess that's something _else_ no one should know I did..."

"If anyone even _asks_ , just say you had started your training in your homeland," Set replied shrewdly. "No one would question it, and your training with me would become self-explanatory as well—you're just trying to keep up with your lessons."

With a little chuckle, the smaller boy nodded, then went back to focussing on the water in the goblet. About an hour later, after Set made him stop and rest for several minutes, the water collectively began rising out of the goblet. After another break of several minutes, Yuugi lifted the water again, though only a few inches, and began to try shaping it. Since it was liquid, if he lost his grip on any one part of it, said part began bubbling out, or even broke and drained most of the water back into the cup. The High Priest laughed at the latter when it happened, teasing Yuugi about how 'proper' he was by keeping the water so cleanly in one place—namely, in the goblet.

Finally, after a third break, Yuugi lifted it and had it almost perfectly shaped—only for the ball of water to go flying and splatter all over the floor and wall. Problem: the wall was over ten feet away.

"Um..." Yuugi began to say, as he started to rise, eyes searching for something to clean up the water with.

"Sit down, Yuugi," Set told the boy in amusement.

"But I have to clean up the mess—"

A sigh cut Yuugi off, and Set told him, "It's _water_. This is the _desert_. How long do you think it's going to last there?" When Yuugi didn't answer right away, but a sudden understanding appeared in his eyes, the taller teen went on, "You don't need to clean it up, you need to understand what just happened. So, what was going on with your energy, and what did that feel like to you?"

Slowly sitting down again, Yuugi considered the question, staring off into space while he thought about it. "It felt like part of my energy snapped and lashed out like a whip...and before I knew it, the water was being pulled along with the whip."

"And right there is the problem," the older teen nodded.

"So what do I do to fix it, Set?" the boy asked.

"First, you have to keep your energy from pulling anything you're doing at the time with it when it snaps, then you have to keep it from snapping like that in the _first_ place. And let me tell you, it isn't possible to skip the first part, since any time you get tired, your energy will start snapping, no matter how well-trained you are. The better your training and control, the less it'll snap, but it still will, so you have to be prepared to control the object your power is influencing, regardless."

"...And...Do I just keep practicing on the water?"

"Yes, but with a new rule once you're familiar with forming the ball." Set took the goblet off the table, filled it from the pail, and set it back down in front of Yuugi. "First, I need to see you form the ball of water again. Once I'm sure you're steady enough with it, I'll give you the new rule, since you'll have to be able to divide your attention to make the rule work."

"Okay," Yuugi agreed, working on forming the ball again.

Finally, after he'd managed to toss four more of them around the room, thankfully not hitting any of the books or scrolls in the process, Set told him, "This time, your extra rule is to watch for the snap of energy—and to send up some energy between your object and the part that's breaking, like a second layer to the energy holding the ball."

"Could I just give the ball two layers of energy from the start?"

"If things were so easy, we'd have _a lot_ less training to do. No, if part of the energy snaps, all the energy in that area at the time snaps with it. As a result, its easier to create a second layer only once the break is happening, essentially to take over for the now broken flow."

"...I'll try, then," Yuugi agreed, concentrating on the water again.

The first three times, he couldn't stop the ball from flying—and one of them landed on a shelf where there were some objects, but Set didn't seem concerned about them getting wet. The fourth time, he managed to get it halfway, causing the water to splatter over both of them and the table. Set laughed outright at the small shower while Yuugi blushed. And finally, the High Priest called a halt to the practice.


	3. 03-Bonds

Bonds

After Yuugi got them both wet with the exploding ball of water, Set said, "All right, it's almost time for the midday meal, so let's stop here. I've never seen someone blow up their water ball before, so that was a new one for me, too. I had no idea there was a 'halfway' in this task. Anyway, you've done remarkably well for one morning's lessons, so I have no complaints, and we should go find Prince Atem before he worries about you." The High Priest paused there, then gave Yuugi a wry grin and said, "He and you may both claim you aren't Lovers, but there are times where he behaves like you are."

Yuugi turned bright red and said, "That's not possible. And I wouldn't _want_ to be... 'like that' with him, anyway."

"Does the Prince know that?" Set asked with a raised brow, rising and motioning the smaller boy to follow him.

"Yes. As far as I know, he feels the same way," Yuugi replied, falling in with the High Priest. "It's just...I'm not good at physical things, so he always had to protect me when someone tried to hurt me. It's the one thing I can't do. That's why he comes across as obsessive sometimes—he's the darkness protecting the light."

"Hence the validity of the analogy Prince Atem gave Mana," Set mused thoughtfully.

"...Why are you and Atem so formal with one another?" Yuugi asked suddenly.

The taller teen glanced down at Yuugi in mild surprise, then said, "I serve him, so I _have_ to be formal with him."

"All the other Priests serve him, too, and they aren't so formal with him. And he isn't with _them_ , either. For some reason, it's only _you_ , Set. I mean, you only just _met_ me and you're already completely informal with me, and letting me be informal with you."

"Prince Atem and I...don't exactly get along. Not that we hate each other, but...he focuses on bonds and working together, while I seek the strength to be able to keep those I care about safe. Our ideals are different, maybe _too_ different."

"No, your ideals are exactly the same. It's only your _methods_ which are different," Yuugi answered, sounding completely amused.

"What?" the older teen asked with a puzzled frown, looking down at Yuugi again.

"Seriously, you and Atem are both seeking power, strength with which to protect those you care about. Atem does it by drawing on everyone's strength and pooling it, while you look for a way to do it all yourself. Why do you think you need to carry the burden alone, Set?"

To the smaller teen's surprise, Set froze, his whole body rigid as he stared down at Yuugi in something like fear and amazement.

"What?" Yuugi asked in concern. "Did I say something wrong?"

Slowly, Set shook his head, then asked quietly, "How can you just...reach into my soul like that?"

Before the younger teen could answer, Mahad cut in frantically with, "Yuugi, there you are! Atem asked me to find you and show you to the Great Hall for the midday meal, but no one was in the High Priest's chambers."

Shaking off his shock, Set looked at Mahad and said, "The Prince implied I was to show Yuugi back to his chambers once the lesson was over, so that's what I was doing."

The older man released a breath and nodded, saying, "All right, then let's head for the Great Hall. I'm puzzled by why Atem would say two different things to us, though..."

"He doesn't trust me," Set replied simply as the two Priests turned towards the Hall.

"I don't think it's _that_ , either," Yuugi put in, sounding amused. "I know this from him, he _does_ trust you, a whole lot more than you think. Something else made him do that, and it probably has to do with him not being able to get away from something."

"Why would that matter in a place as safe as the Palace?" Mahad asked in surprise.

"'Safe'? When at least four people want to kill me?" the boy asked dryly. The other two looked back at him in surprise, so he added, "I'm not able to fight physically to protect myself, and yes, I have Kuribo to help me, but he's not taking any chances. I think he sent you here, not to _find_ me, Mahad, but to be here to help Set and Kuribo keep me safe."

Both their eyes widened as they looked at each other—then Set abruptly jumped behind Yuugi, catching a man's arm. The man had come from behind a pillar, and was dressed in shapeless, undyed cloth, his face something like a drunken thug's. Mahad hissed as two more came from in front, ones who shared the looks of the first one, and Set's eyes went to them in concern. Before anything else could happen, another man joined the one on Set's side, but this fourth man didn't have the looks of a drunk, not by his eyes, which was all they could see of him with the cloth wrapped around his face. That fourth man also carried a sword to the daggers of the other three.

"See?" Yuugi asked Set and Mahad, making a face. "This was it."

"Where are the Guards?" Set suddenly bellowed at the top of his lungs, dodging back as the swordsman jumped at him, his gaze alarmed. "Guards!" Set yelled again, the sound like a roar.

The men all jumped forward, dodging around the two Priests—and Yuugi cried, "Kuribo, multiply!"

In moments, the outer hall they were in was filled with Kuribos, preventing the men from being able to reach Yuugi and making them start hacking at and killing the little creatures. Said little creatures got mad and began launching themselves at the attackers to hit them while a few even exploded, even as Set was able to knock one out and Mahad bound another with his power.

The swordsman jumped back suddenly and said, "Magic Negate!" The binding Mahad had cast broke apart, allowing the now-free man to trip the Priest, and the extra Kuribos began fading out with the casting. The swordsman then jumped at Set to unbalance him, and quickly turned to attack Yuugi, whose eyes widened.

"Spellbinding Circle!" Set yelled—and the swordsman was forced to stop, bound by a magic circle.

Another voice added, "Trap Hole!" and the man who was about to use his dagger on Mahad fell into a pit with a yelp.

As soon as Mahad saw that, he faced the last man, who was about to bring his dagger down on Yuugi, and called, "Magical Thorn!" Vines full of thorns wrapped around the last man, who was forced to freeze where he was.

Yuugi stared, then turned to look at Mahad. "I thought Magical Thorn damaged the enemy even more when something they were using deactivated?" It was as close as he could come to 'damaging the opponent when cards were sent to the graveyard.'

The Priest gave him a lop-sided smile and said, "It does that, too, but it has to anchor itself _some_ where." The boy grinned at that.

"Priests!" several guards cried in horror as they ran up.

"Are you okay, Master?" a female voice asked them from outside the hall. They looked as Mana jumped down into the hall—and realized she'd been the one to cast the Trap Hole.

"Yes, thank you, Mana," Mahad smiled at her.

Set went to Yuugi and turned the boy to face him. "Are _you_ all right, Yuugi?"

"Yes, thank you," the boy smiled. "And this was what Atem intended when he sent Mahad to _supposedly_ 'find' me."

When the four got to the Great Hall, Atem rose and motioned them over to his seat, where they informed him of what had happened. He was grateful and thankful they were all well, even as they took seats by the Prince and began eating. He also asked after Yuugi's lessons, and Set replied they had gone remarkably well so far, but he'd allow the smaller boy to explain later. It seemed that was a code to not talk about it anymore, since Atem changed the subject rather than prying.

In his personal chambers that afternoon, Atem asked Yuugi, "So what happened in your lesson that we couldn't talk about it openly?"

"Set was really surprised I could lift the water and shape it into a ball in one lesson, since I'd never done it before," Yuugi replied in wry amusement. "He told me he'd been expecting it to take a few days, at least, for me to get far enough just to start affecting the water when he heard I literally had no training."

"Then, are the lessons even necessary?" the Prince asked with a frown.

"Yes," the smaller boy answered simply in a dry tone.

"In what way?" the taller teen asked, frown deepening.

"The first time I got control enough to form the ball, my energy shot out at a random angle—and took the ball with it. I pretty much washed Set's floor by the time we were done, and I even managed to soak the two of us before he called the lesson quits. He has a valid concern, and if I used that power for something like Mirror Force, only for it to go out of my control...That's too dangerous to risk, Atem. I _need_ training."

After a silence where they stared evenly at each other, it was Atem who looked away with a sigh. "All right, I see your point, and the High Priest isn't just paranoid."

"Do you really think he ever _was_?" Yuugi asked dryly. "Even Kaiba-kun doesn't just react to rumors or whatever, and any time he suspected something, it was based on tangible facts—and he was always right. I could see why he was concerned with it as soon as he explained, exactly _because_ he only reacts to a real threat." When the other teen gave a small nod of acknowledgment at the words, Yuugi asked, "Anyway, why are you so formal with him?"

"We're rivals, and our ideals are different," the Prince replied without thinking.

"What a well-rehearsed lie," the smaller teen sighed. When Atem looked at him in surprise, he added, "Atem, I know you better than that, and I know you also see your ideals the same way he sees his, just with a different method of achieving them."

At that, the taller teen looked away again, hesitated, then said, "My feelings for him are...romantic, but there's too much of a gap in social status for it to work...and that's besides his lack of similar feelings for me. I have to force myself to stay distant so I don't make a mistake and ruin both our lives."

"You know as well as I do that he's Akhenaten's son and your cousin, so don't try to pull that 'social status' idiocy on me," Yuugi shot back in a perfectly flat tone. When Atem looked up at him, the smaller boy went on, "You've never allowed yourself to get close enough to him to find out if he returns the feelings, so you can't say he doesn't return them, and—"

"But that woman, Kisara—"

"Is tied to his soul, like karma, but is not his Lover."

Atem's eyes widened, then he asked tentatively, "She's not?"

"They barely know each other, from what Kaiba-kun told me," Yuugi replied dryly. "It's true they're tied together for each other's safety, but not because they're in love."

"And that's why he's obsessed with the Blue Eyes White Dragon?"

"That's because of what Akhenaten and Zorc forced on them, where he couldn't save her, and _she_ did for _him_ what Mahad and Mana did for _you_. And, I mean, you _are_ pretty obsessed with the Dark Magician and the Dark Magician Girl, so you have no right to complain about them."

"...It doesn't change our rivalry."

"No, only getting to know each other will do that."

"Yuugi!" Atem cried, looking a bit flustered. "Don't disrupt the flow!"

"Sure, Atem," Yuugi replied in a dryly amused tone. "And what _else_ am I not supposed to disturb, considering I'm living here for the next who knows how long?"

A silence fell, and was only broken when a splash and several frantic calls of ' _kuri_ ' came from the room behind the wall hanging, making both teens jump for the room in a panic. What they found in the bathroom—was a thoroughly soaked Kuribo stuck in the filled, stone, tub-like indentation in one corner of the room. Yuugi lifted the soaked ball of fur out of the tub as both he and Atem laughed at it and it pouted, then, since they were there and the water was still warm, the two teens had a bath, themselves.

For the next three days, most of what Yuugi saw was Set's chambers and Atem's chambers, with nothing but the path between the two to offset it. On the first of the three days, while Set was walking Yuugi back to the Prince's room after the lesson, a voice called, "Yuugi, High Priest Set!"

Turning to scan the area above the half-wall on the outdoor walkway, they found themselves looking at one of the training yards as Atem rapidly approached the wall. Yuugi grinned and waved while Set called back, "Good day, Your Highness. How was your practice?"

"Good—much better than last time," Atem replied as he got to the half-wall and vaulted over it to land on the sheltered walkway. "And your lesson?"

"Better—though Yuugi was kind enough to—er—shower us both enough for us to not need baths this evening," Set replied in dry amusement, making Yuugi blush and Atem laugh.

"Other than that, High Priest?" the Prince replied cordially.

"His abilities improve well beyond the expected rate, My Prince," Set told him.

"God, stop being so formal with each other already!" Yuugi cut in as he almost killed himself laughing. "You sound silly talking to each other like that out here!"

"But the High Priest and—" Atem began.

"Set," Yuugi cut him off.

"...What?" the Prince blinked as Set looked down at Yuugi in surprise.

"Come on, Atem, Set. Neither of you hates the other, and the first step to getting to know each other properly—to being friends—is to start calling each other by your names, not your titles," Yuugi pointed out dryly. "And there's _nothing_ wrong with the Prince and the High Priest being friends, right? Also, it'll be good for both of you to be able to confide in each other, since that'll foster understanding and trust, too."

A long silence followed the words as the two stared at Yuugi, but then their eyes met. After pause, both grinned in wry amusement as Set commented, "He has a point."

Finally, after another long silence, Atem sighed, then walked over to Set and held his hand out, even as he met the taller man's gaze evenly. "Then, is it all right for me to call you by your name alone...Set?"

For a moment, the High Priest paused, then reached out to clasp—not Atem's hand, but his forearm, just below the elbow. Atem returned the grip as Set answered, "I have no objection, as long as the favor is returned...Atem."

"And it is. Thank you," the Prince replied, his expression becoming grateful.

Set nodded. "And thank you," he said, reaching up to cover Atem's hand on his arm with his free hand—and Atem returned the gesture similarly with Set's hand on his arm.

Atem then looked at the smaller boy, who was grinning widely beside them while Kuribo cheered from the boy's shoulder. "Thank you, Yuugi," the Prince told him.

"Of course," the smaller boy just grinned as Set also sent him a thankful look.

The Prince and High Priest then released each other's arms as Set asked, "So, were you finished with your martial training, Atem?"

"I was just handing my things to Taopo so he could put them away," Atem informed them. "We can head for the Great Hall now if you have nothing else to do before the midday meal, Set."

"Then let's go," the High Priest agreed, and Yuugi just followed quietly behind them as they led the way, already deep in conversation together.

A few days later, when Yuugi got hungry and wanted to find the kitchens to ask for something to snack on, he soon found himself completely lost, and finally just sat down on the floor in one of the halls, completely dejected. Eventually, someone would find him, for better or for worse, and to make matters worse still, even Kuribo didn't know his way around yet.

It turned out he only had to wait a couple minutes, until the door almost right beside him opened—and a woman who looked like a carbon copy of his own modern Ishizu stood there! He stared at her in surprise as she blinked at him in puzzlement—then smiled as his stomach grumbled and he blushed.

"Sorry," he said. "I was trying to find my way to the kitchens, but I got lost."

"I see," she answered, motioning him to rise. "You are...Yuugi, the Prince's new friend, yes?"

He got up and let her lead him down the hall as he answered, "Yes, I am. Are you one of the Priests?"

"Yes. My name is Isis." She then paused and pointed up at the ceiling, so Yuugi looked up—and saw a series of letters there, Ancient Egyptian ones. "Next time you find yourself lost, just look up at the ceiling, as most of the main areas have such signs to inform you of where you are. This one is the one for the kitchens, and there are indicators for outdoor and indoor training yards, the stables, the forges, and other areas. The living area has no such luxury, so once you have something to eat, I'll show you back to the Prince's chambers. He must be worried about you by now."

"Probably not. He has a lesson to attend and pretty much ordered me not to join him, so...he probably hasn't gotten back yet," Yuugi answered wryly.

"A pity, that," she admitted. "You must be bored while the Prince is busy."

"Normally, it isn't so bad—I'm good at keeping myself busy," the boy told her. "It's just...I think I've been practicing Set's lessons a bit too hard, and got hungry."

She laughed outright at his words, then pushed a door open, revealing the kitchen. It was bustling, and one of the women working there looked up from the far side of the room to see them. Isis called to the woman who'd looked up, "Have you got some fruit or bread for the Prince's friend to eat?"

For a moment, the woman looked off into space, then called back, "I think we have some in the storage room yet, Priestess. Wait a moment and I'll see." When Isis gave a nod in reply, the woman headed into a room off to one side, then came back a couple minutes later with some bread and cheese, and even a small branch of grapes. "I hope this will do for the Prince's honored guest."

"Ah, this is great, thanks," Yuugi answered as he took it and began devouring it.

With a chuckle, Isis said, "Thank you, Danea. We'll let you get back to work now." With that, she gave a wave to the woman and led Yuugi from the room and back in the direction of Atem's room.

"Thank you, Priestess Isis," Yuugi told her when she stopped at Atem's door.

"Of course. I've been able to see you are important to the Palace since you came, so it would hardly do for you to be harmed—or to get lost in the Palace," she chuckled.

Yuugi blinked and asked, "How am I so important? It seems more like I'm just getting lessons or sponging off you than like I'm being useful somehow."

"...Sponging...?" Isis asked him, obviously puzzled by the word.

"Ah...Sorry, 'sponging off' someone is a way in my land of saying a person is a freeloader, someone who's getting food and shelter for nothing," the boy explained.

The woman smiled then, and told him, "Everything you learn here will make it easier for you to help us when the fog I see in the future clarifies. Learn well, and never think you are a mere 'freeloader' here, since you're working as hard as any Priest, in your own way." She then left him there.

He'd already finished eating, so just went back inside the room as he thought about her words.

Later that evening, while Atem and he were playing an early version of a board game the Prince had taught him, Yuugi said tentatively, "You know, Atem...I can't read or write your language, and I'm not so sure that's a good thing. I'd like to learn."

"Why do you need to know?" the Prince asked with a raised brow.

"Because I can't find my way around without knowing," Yuugi replied.

"You can't just memorize the signs? You're very good at that."

"That doesn't help me if I haven't gone into the area before to know what's there."

"Then don't."

"You know, if I could have read your language, I could have just _told_ you your name and not had to worry about trying to figure out how to write it."

"You couldn't have known it then, anyway, since this is after then in your timeline."

At that point, Yuugi sighed as he realized Atem wasn't going to take the issue seriously, so just said, "Never mind, then," and finished the game by losing on purpose so he could go to bed early.

"Yuugi, did you seriously just lose on purpose?" the Prince asked in surprise as he watched the smaller boy curl up on the large cushion which served as his actual 'mattress' of sorts.

As the boy pulled the blanket over him and pulled one of the other cushions into his arms, he replied, "Since you were away nearly the whole day, I was practicing Set's lessons, and actually used up so much energy I had to go get something to eat. Thank God for Isis, though, or I'd still be hopelessly lost in the Palace. I'm tired tonight, so I want to sleep early."

"All right, good night...and next time, just _tell_ me you're tired." Yuugi agreed with a hum, and Atem added, "I'll thank Isis, too." Another agreeing hum came from the boy.


	4. 04-Conflict

Conflict

After a couple of days, Yuugi had gotten to feel safe, especially in his lesson with Set, so had released Kuribo. The little ball of fur deserved a break, after all, and he was sure Set could protect him just fine, not unlike Kaiba could. He was also adapting to effectively wearing a skirt, but since all the guys around him also did, it wasn't so bad, and he had to admit it was easier to handle the heat in the light-weight, white cloth. His finely-woven, straw sandals also kept his feet cool, but he wasn't allowed to wear either the cloak or headdress Atem wore—for which he was grateful.

The morning after he'd had the conversation with Atem about reading and writing lessons, as he was finishing his lesson with Set and the older teen was rising, Yuugi asked, "Can I talk with you about something, Set?"

"What's that?" the High Priest asked as he sat down again.

"Atem doesn't seem to think it's important, but I have a problem—I can't read or write in your language. My home has its own language, and it's got similarities to this one, but not nearly enough for me to understand it. If the Priestess hadn't found me yesterday, I would probably have been lost in the Palace for a long time, so I already know this is something I need to know to live here, even just for a bit," Yuugi explained.

"...How do you mean, Atem 'doesn't seem to think it's important'?" Set asked with a puzzled frown.

"He basically just told me to stay locked in his room rather than learning it," the boy sighed, then blinked as Set's eyes went wide.

"Is he _trying_ to make you completely dependent on him?" the older teen asked.

Yuugi shrugged. "I don't know, but he was being unusually stubborn about it. I mean, it's possible he thinks I'll be safe if I just stay in his room, but to me, that just makes me a sitting duck, waiting for someone to hunt me."

Set chuckled at the analogy, but nodded and rose, "I agree with you, on both points. I don't have the time to teach you personally, but I can introduce you to someone who probably does—he usually has his afternoons free. Shall we?"

"Yes, thanks, Set," Yuugi grinned as he rose—then blinked as the young man's expression changed for a moment. The change was gone too fast for Yuugi to pin-point it, so he just put it out of his mind. "So, who is this person?"

"You've met him once, though it was fairly brief," Set replied, leading the way—to another, nearby Temple which was across a courtyard from a dark, descending stair which made Yuugi shiver slightly. He knocked on a door deep in the living area of that Temple, the Temple of Anubis, but it didn't open it right away.

There was a clatter, an 'ouch', and the sound of breaking glass, then the door opened—to reveal Shada. The other Priest who had watched the duel was the teacher Set had in mind? "Oh, High Priest, what can I do for you?"

"Ah, your hand!" Yuugi gasped, pointing at the bloody cut down the side of his palm. "Are you okay?"

Both Set and Shada chuckled, then the Priest said, "I'm fine, Yuugi. It's just a minor wound, a bare scratch. And besides...watch." Shada lifted his wounded hand and held it so the boy could clearly see the wound, then placed two fingers of his opposite hand at the top edge of the mark. As he dragged his fingers down over the cut, the wound sealed and vanished, making Yuugi's eyes widen in amazement.

"Teach me that!" he stated, making both men chuckle again.

"We didn't come here to ask Shada to teach you the minor healing all Priests know, Yuugi," Set told him dryly, making Yuugi blush. "If you want, I'll teach you how to do some things like that, but what you came here for is going to take more work for you than magic does. That being the case, it's better for me to give you additional magic lessons."

"...So...What is it you _did_ come here to ask me to teach you, Yuugi?" Shada asked in puzzlement.

"Atem doesn't think I should learn to read and write your language, and Set said you would be the best person to teach me," Yuugi explained.

"Not Mahad?" Shada asked of Set in surprise.

"He has more than enough work with Mana and the Prince to take care of," the High Priest replied. "I could ask Isis if you don't have the time."

"No, I don't mind. I was just somewhat surprised, since you would usually go to him for something like this. Though...why would Atem ignore such an obvious problem?" Shada asked with a puzzled frown.

"Like usual, Yuugi thinks it's Atem's way of protecting him, but I'm more likely to call it an issue of 'control'. That, in turn, would mean he _doesn't_ like the time Yuugi's away from the room," Set told the older man with a sigh. "Either way, once Yuugi leaves the room in the morning, he doesn't _have_ to go back until he wants to. What's a good time for Yuugi to be with you for lessons? Was I right to say afternoons?"

"Yes, that's fine," Shada agreed, then opened the door wide and motioned them inside. "Usually, I eat my midday meal here, and I noticed you're uncomfortable with crowds, so you might like to eat with me before we start the lessons, Yuugi."

"Well, sometimes, Atem will still want me to eat with him, or in the Great Hall, but I'd prefer to be here more often than not for meals," Yuugi agreed, stepping inside and seeing a room similar to Set's, but oriented differently.

For example, while Set's table was in the middle of his main room, more or less, Shada's was to one side of the room, lined up with and right in front of the corner window. The stools he or others would sit on were in front of the wall between the corner window and the next one over, but light shone directly on the table for much of the day, and he had papers scattered across said table. There was also more than one ink pot, and even a few dozen brushes for writing with, at least three of each size in a rack beside the ink pots. A pail of water was sitting beside the table, and a shallow, small bowl filled with water sat beside the brushes, while the bookshelf immediately beside the table had a shelf with a whole stack of similar bowls on it. In the middle of the pile of cushions he had in his room, there was a raised slab of stone, something like Yuugi would associate with a coffee table in the present day.

"What did you break, anyway?" Set asked the older man in puzzlement, making Shada point at a collection of glass shards and green moisture in front of a shelf with magical objects on it. "Is that...the herbal vial from Bastet's Temple?" the High Priest asked, eyes going wide.

"Unfortunately," Shada replied in wry amusement. "Pity, that."

"'Pity' doesn't cover it," Set answered in concern. "Bastet will be furious with you!"

"I doubt that," Yuugi commented as he looked at the papers on Shada's table. "If it's herbs, humans cultivate and produce the vials, not Bastet. All it's going to do is prevent Priest Shada from doing the things he needed to use it for until he can get more, but I would be surprised if Bastet even knows about the vials, or _cares_ what humans do with them if she does. It's got no relevance to her. The most I can see her doing is maybe shaking her head in amazement at human stupidity and clumsiness."

Shada chuckled as the High Priest gaped at the boy for a moment, then turned to glare at the chuckling Shada. The older Priest held his hands up in surrender, then told Set, "My answer is the same as Yuugi's. These mixtures of herbs _are_ ones we can replicate, since they aren't made with herbs found only in the Realm of the Gods, High Priest. They weren't given as gifts by Bastet, and the only thing special about them is the particular refining they use at Bastet's Temple."

After a silence, the younger man sighed and nodded. "Fine, I'll leave you for lunch, since someone has to tell His Highness about the change in Yuugi's schedule. And Yuugi, I'll see you in the morning."

"Sure, thanks, Set," Yuugi agreed as Shada moved over to the glass shards to begin collecting them. Once Set was gone, Yuugi moved over to help Shada. "I can help, too."

The Priest looked up with a smile, saying, "You're a guest here, so you don't have to do anything like this."

"Maybe, but I like helping people," Yuugi answered.

A rapid knock came on the door, then it was thrown open to reveal a man Yuugi had never seen before. He dressed like a Priest, but with his chest mostly bare and his hair falling roughly to his shoulders. And when he saw the mess, he rolled his eyes and said, "If you keep breaking the vials, we'll stop giving them to you, Shada."

"Yes, thank you for the assistance, Karim," Shada replied in a sarcastic tone. Yuugi chuckled at the words, drawing Karim's eyes to him.

"Is this the boy the Prince has been favoring for the last few days?" the man, who seemed a bit older than Shada, asked.

"Yes, this is Yuugi," Shada said as he rose and put the glass shards he carried on a blank spot on the shelf in front of him. "Though whether the Prince is 'favoring' him or making him into a captive is another question entirely, since Set had to bring Yuugi to me for lessons on reading and writing. Apparently, Atem doesn't think he should know."

Karim frowned in puzzlement and said, "That would be odd for His Highness, though. Such possessiveness is outside his character."

"You think?" Yuugi asked dryly, making both look at him in surprise. "He's always scariest when he's protecting me, or _thinks_ he's protecting me, even to the point where he nearly killed one of my _friends_ when they were forced to fight each other. That's exactly _why_ he's 'the darkness' and I'm 'the light'. He's capable of doing some very horrible things, especially where I'm concerned, and the only thing keeping him in check in those cases—is me."

After over a minute of a stunned silence, Shada finally asked, "Why did you come here in such a hurry, Karim?"

Giving himself a shake, the other man said, "I have a text I need to give to Isis, but I ran out of ink, and I have only until the end of the midday meal to get it to her."

Shada gave him some ink and he left, then the two sat down while Shada cleared off his desk to prepare for the meal and the lessons after it.

When Yuugi finished his first lesson in reading and writing, he found his way back to Set's room, then headed down the familiar path back to Atem's room. When he got there, the Prince was sitting at his table, pouting.

As soon as he saw Yuugi, he pounced on the smaller boy and demanded, "Where _were_ you all afternoon, Yuugi?"

"Didn't Set tell you?" the smaller boy asked dryly, not trying to escape Atem's grip.

"He said you were getting reading and writing lessons—which I don't think you need, regardless—but he didn't tell me _where_ on the pretext that I'd go get you instead of letting you have the lesson," Atem replied sharply.

" _Would_ you have come to get me?" Yuugi asked quietly.

"No," the Prince answered instantly—only to see his smaller lookalike frown at him in disapproval. After a pause, he sighed and admitted, "Probably."

"Why? You're busy most of the day, so I'd be here alone. What protection is that?" Yuugi asked pointedly.

"But you're my other half! I need to know where you are!" Atem cried.

The smaller boy crossed his arms and said, "You're not a spirit, and you're not tied in to the Puzzle _or me_ yet. We don't have to be glued together, and I'm _not_ a fixture in your room." Atem's eyes went huge at the words, so Yuugi sighed and went on, "You _know_ all of that already, so why are you doing this? What's this _really_ about?"

Letting go of the smaller boy, Atem sighed and went back to sit on the seat at his table. "It's...You're with the High Priest...with Set...right?"

"For part of the time," Yuugi agreed. "Why?"

"...He doesn't...want to be with me."

"...What do you mean?"

A long silence followed, then the Prince sighed. "I'm sure he doesn't have any such feelings for me, so it's a lost cause, even with your help. I guess...I'm a little jealous you're spending so much time with him, since he's spent more time with you in the last few days than he has with me in the whole time we've known each other..."

Yuugi paused, then asked, "And what else, Other Me?"

"...I'm worried he'll start liking you, or that you'll start liking him..."

"Why would he like me, and why would I start liking Set when I have Kaiba-kun to worry about in my own time?"

Atem gave his head a shake as he smiled in amusement. "It's me being paranoid, that's all. If he were to fall for you, I'd have no chance."

"When Anzu picked you over me, why would you think that?" Yuugi stared. "You're strong, you can fight for yourself. That's why everyone in my time likes you, Atem. I'm weak and need to be protected—something most of the people I know _don't_ like. Set included, Atem."

"Then why is he taking so much time to help you?"

"Because all the Priests, not just him, are worried about you not letting me learn to read and write—they consider it a control issue, not your—rather illogical—way of protecting me."

When Atem made a face, Yuugi suddenly got a bad feeling. "Sorry." Atem didn't sound sorry at all, and Yuugi wondered if something actually _was_ wrong with his dark half. His current behavior wasn't encouraging...

"It's not Set teaching me to read and write, so is that okay?" the smaller boy asked, hoping it would be easier for the other teen to handle if he knew that fact.

"...I guess I can live with it," the Prince agreed. "Just be careful."

"I will," Yuugi agreed.

A number of weeks passed like that, except that Yuugi kept seeing the odd look in Set's eyes when they were together. It was really starting to make him nervous—until Set did something which caused everything to start unraveling. Maybe, if Atem hadn't seen it, things would have been fine, but Atem _did_ see it.

After Yuugi's lesson with Set, the older teen was escorting him to the Great Hall, since Atem had asked the smaller boy to join him for the meal that day. They were walking leisurely, since there was still time until the meal, and the area seemed to be deserted—then again, they were on one of the outdoor halls, which normally _were_ deserted during the hottest part of the day.

"How was your lesson with Shada yesterday?" the older teen asked curiously.

"Fine. I'm getting used to writing your characters, and my spelling isn't that bad now that I know the written characters. Though, he did say I had a lot to learn, since all he'd shown me so far was just the basic commoner's alphabet and some of the characters nobles and priests have to know, not all of them—not even close," Yuugi explained.

"Yes, that's a lot to learn. It's good if you're able to work with the basic alphabet, though, so keep working on it," the High Priest encouraged.

"I will," the smaller boy agreed.

"Then there's no problem."

Once again, Yuugi saw that expression in Set's eyes, so asked, "Why do you keep looking at me like that, Set?"

The older teen blinked, then became wryly amused as he said, "I thought I was hiding it well enough you wouldn't notice, but since you did—"

He stopped speaking abruptly and swooped down to wrap his arms around Yuugi, pulling him close and—kissing him deeply on the lips.

Yuugi was too stunned to move at first, both by the suddenness and by the action itself, so just froze for the first few moments. His next reaction was to struggle to get away, but Set's arms were wrapped too tightly around him, and he was no match for the other's strength. Finally, the actual sensation of the kiss penetrated his shock—and he moaned faintly as he gave in and relaxed into the kiss.

When Set pulled back, Yuugi opened his eyes to stare up at him, then pushed back again, trying to break free, but Set wouldn't let him go. "You can't do this, Set!" the smaller boy cried softly, finally just giving up and dropping his head onto the older's chest. He felt like he would cry. It seemed Atem's paranoia had been legitimate.

"Why? You seemed to enjoy it, too," the High Priest replied in amusement.

Yuugi shook his head. "You don't understand! Atem...this will hurt him!"

"Why would it have any relevance to him when you two aren't romantic?" Set asked with a puzzled frown.

"It isn't because of him and me, it's because of _you_ and _him_. I can't just..." the smaller boy began, then drifted off. "Just, _please_ stop...This can't happen..."

"Why can't it? As far as I know, Atem and I are barely friends, so there's nothing wrong with this," the older of the two said in a pointed tone.

"There's something 'wrong' with it right from the start, an—"

Yuugi was cut off as Set's lips came down on his again, this time with a much stronger, heavier heat than the last. His insistence and force in the kiss seemed desperate, and his hands moved down to the smaller boy's back and rear. As the taller cupped Yuugi's rear, his grip tightened and he pulled the boy flush against his body, where Yuugi could feel his throbbing length through the cloth they wore. Again, the boy tried to pull away, but Set was much too strong for him. There was no way he could break the other's hold.

Finally, the High Priest stopped kissing him, letting the smaller boy draw in deep breaths of much-needed air, then whispered to Yuugi, "I want you in my bed, Yuugi."

"No, no you don't!" Yuugi cried in sudden alarm, trying to push away. "It's not me, and I'm weak and can't even protect myself, and—"

Set cut him off with an amused sigh and the words, "You're far from weak, and by your summoning skills, you're fully capable of protecting yourself and anyone else nearby. Don't belittle yourself."

"...Stop, please...Atem will..."

"And stop making this about Atem."

"Then what about me liking someone else already, not you _or_ Atem?"

"Now that's starting to sound like you're just making excuses when it's clear you very much enjoy my touch," Set said in amusement, voice low.

"Yuugi..." a familiar voice cut in, a voice holding barely-contained rage. Yuugi went tense as Set looked over to see Atem balancing on the ledge looking out over the training yard.

"Atem, what brings you here at the moment?" Set asked carefully, also sensing the rage, but knowing it was directed, somehow, at Yuugi.

"That was an interesting scene to come across when I finished putting my training gear away, _High Priest Set_ ," Atem replied acidly. Both Yuugi and Set noticed the formality the Prince was using.

Immediately, the High Priest shoved Yuugi behind him, feeling the threat, and said, "Then you should have seen I pretty much forced the kiss on him, Atem." The High Priest wasn't going to go backwards and become formal again, however, so wouldn't reply in kind to the words. Atem, as furious as he was, could be understood, but Set wasn't angry, so he had no reason to go backwards in their progress.

"And you saying such a thing to me gives me the right to have you executed for touching what's mine," Atem replied, tone not changing, and Yuugi just shook his head. "Come here, Yuugi."

"No," the smaller boy answered, and both realized his skin was pale, ashen. He was terrified.

"Oh, so you wanted him to kiss you, after all?" the Prince asked, still furious and acidic. "On second thought, I think I _will_ have him executed."

"Atem, don't!" Yuugi cried. "You're too angry, you're going to do something you'll regret if you can't calm down!"

"What am I going to do? Punish someone who took advantage of you, that's it," the taller of the two glared at the smaller.

"No, you're going to hurt someone," Yuugi answered quietly. "Just like you did when you had that pendant and let yourself be consumed by rage. You stop _thinking_ when you get like this...And you scare me when you're like this."

Rather than answer, Atem jumped down from the ledge and headed for Yuugi, but Set put his arm in the way. "He's right, and this isn't like you—this is down-right frightening, Atem. Please take some time to calm down, and one of the other Guardian-Priests, not either of us, can take care of him for the afternoon."

"Yuugi," Atem began coldly. "Is _mine_." After a momentary silence, he added, "And I really _will_ have you executed if you get in my way for claiming and protecting what's mine ever again, _commoner_."

"Atem, I'm not an object, and don't say things about Set which you _know_ aren't true!" Yuugi cried. "That's not—ow!" He was cut off as Atem dragged him away—painfully—in the direction of his room.


	5. 05-Pain and Shock

AN: Warning! Near-rape and willing slash sex in this chapter! But keep in mind that this isn't Atem's usual behavior, and serves a few purposes! All will be explained later in the story...And for anyone really worried about this, no, Set/Yuugi isn't going to show up anywhere but this chapter.

 **Edit to original AN: I've added bolded and bracketed warnings within the story so readers can skip the near-rape and/or the sex.**

Pain and Shock

Set was left behind, pale and shocked, as the Prince dragged his smaller lookalike away with him. They were taking routes Yuugi didn't know, and were moving fast so the boy couldn't even _try_ to follow the same route again.

On the way, they came across Mahad, who began to ask in concern when he saw them and Atem's expression, "What's the ma—"

And to Yuugi's surprise, and both his and Mahad's shock, Atem growled, "Get out of my way!" as he punched and shoved Mahad out of his way with so much force the man dropped to his knees, holding his stomach in pain. And kept going without stopping.

"Atem, stop! Mahad doesn't even have anything to do with—" Yuugi tried pleading.

"Shut up!" the Prince replied, pulling on his arm sharply—and producing a pained cry from the smaller boy.

When they got back to the room shortly after, Atem threw Yuugi into it—and to the ground—forcefully.

Looking up with tears in his eyes, Yuugi asked, "Why did you threaten to kill Set? You _like_ him, don't you? So why did you say such horrible things, when it's _me_ you hate right now?"

"That—you—You know how I feel, and you still—!" Atem began, fury written in every line of his face and body.

"I _didn't_ choose that, and I _didn't_ know he was going to do it!" Yuugi cried.

"But you _liked_ it anyway," the taller, stronger teen growled, and chills ran up and down the smaller's spine as he became hyper-aware of the difference in height and strength between them.

He was starting to regret choosing not to keep Kuribo with him since things had been peaceful.

"It wasn't—"

Yuugi wasn't given time to finish speaking as Atem was suddenly on him, pushing him to the floor and forcing his wrists up above his head. "So you like being forced, huh? I never would have guessed you were such a masochist," the Prince growled, his lips twisted in something like a malicious smirk and his eyes showing only the intent to harm, to cause pain.

 **(WARNING: near-rape starts here!)**

Atem gripped both of Yuugi's wrists in one hand, then used his other to reach under the skirt of Yuugi's robe—and the smaller boy knew what the Prince was going to do to him when he felt the motion and the direction of it.

"No! Atem, stop!" he cried, fighting to get free as the Prince's hand gripped his member through his underwear—hard. "Ahh!" he screamed in pain. "Stop!" he wept, the tears running down his temples as he jolted and fought again to get free.

One hand slid out of Atem's grip, so he swung it blindly—and connected with Atem's jaw hard enough to make him hiss and pull back momentarily.

And the smaller boy froze in terror at the rippling rage and hatred he felt coming off the other teen at the blow. His wide, terrified eyes found Atem's shadowed ones as the taller one leaned down again, taking both wrists—and tying them together with an object Yuugi recognized as his belt. When had Atem taken it off his waist? They were tied so tightly circulation to his hands began cutting off, even as the Prince held them down with one hand again. His free hand pushed the robe up to Yuugi's neck and his lips went to his chest to lick one of his nipples.

"No...Please...No...Atem...Stop...Please..." Yuugi whispered, tears falling silently again, knowing both that Atem could hear him just fine and that Atem's senses were too far gone to stop. The repeated whispers became a scream of pain as the Prince bit one nipple, then a second scream of pain followed as he bit the other as well. All Yuugi could be thankful for was that it didn't seem Atem wanted to bite them _off_ , just make it hurt. A lot. On second thought, he wasn't thankful.

He stopped whispering, or talking at all, after that, when he felt his underwear being pulled off and discarded. His body began tensing, bracing itself for the pain he was about to feel as Atem moved to place his member against the opening—it would be extremely painful without preparation, and it was obvious the Prince had no intention of doing so. Then again, he was furious, and was using this as a way of punishing the one he blamed for the problem with the High Priest.

 **(End of near-rape scene!)**

At that moment, the door opened, and Atem turned to look at it with a glare.

"...What in all the Hells...?" Mahad's stunned voice came to Yuugi—and a moment later, he growled something which sounded like a curse.

Atem went flying as Set—a deathly pale Set—ran to Yuugi to lift him gently. And Yuugi no longer cared. Let Atem be angry, because the smaller boy was now officially terrified of him, even as he felt relief when the High Priest removed the bindings on his wrists. Set pulled off the cape he wore with his priest's clothing and wrapped it around the boy, then rose, carrying Yuugi in both arms. Quickly, he strode from the room—and Yuugi began falling into darkness.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

When he woke, it was to see Set beside him. Not _sitting_ beside him, but laying down on the soft surface under them, his arms wrapped tightly around him. Since the older one had been watching him, the High Priest was aware of it when Yuugi woke—and the first thing he did was kiss the boy gently and kindly on the lips.

It felt good, and now, Yuugi was beyond caring what Atem would think, so he let the older teen kiss him, let him deepen the kiss. And when he felt the High Priest's hands running over his body, he whimpered, moaned, and arched into them. This was such a gentle, kind, caring feeling, and he was still in shock from what his other half had just tried to do to him, so he _wanted_ to feel the kindness. Like when Set had kissed him earlier, he found he enjoyed the sensation.

 **(LEMON ALERT! SKIP to the next bold brackets if you don't want to read it!)**

There were no words as the older teen slipped the robe off the smaller—and Yuugi noted his sandals had already been removed. He didn't want words, so it was fine if the other teen didn't want to talk either; all he wanted was to feel gentleness in all the places he'd felt pain before. Set didn't disappoint him, even as the older teen very gently used his hands, tongue, and lips to caress the smaller boy's chest and nipples. It didn't hurt—rather, it made him moan and arch into the lips sucking on him thoroughly and gently.

Set's hands trailed down his body and began kneading and caressing his ass and thighs, inside and out. In no time, Yuugi was panting and moaning, his legs parted wide just in reaction to the sensations the High Priest was making him feel. Fingers gently kneaded the opening, widening it, even as he felt something oily letting the fingers slide easily in and out of his body. They had lube in the ancient past? Frankly, Yuugi was amazed by the thought, but also grateful, since it meant the entrance wouldn't be dry.

Finally, the older teen stopped working on the opening and withdrew his fingers, then shifted to slide between Yuugi's legs—and stopped. "Yuugi...Is this all right?"

The gentle voice drew the smaller boy out of the depths of the pleasure and passion to look at Set. He then looked down the lengths of their bodies to see their position, and knew what came next. Looking back up at Set's eyes, he nodded and said, "It's okay."

No other words needed to be shared between them, even as the older teen began pushing his hard member gently, slowly, into Yuugi's body. The smaller teen arched and writhed at the large object invading his body, but just instinctively gave a push on it—a push which let it slide in more easily. Set hummed in approval, but it seemed neither wanted to break the mood set by the lack of words, and even Yuugi let only silent tears fall at the—fairly minor—pain. The older teen gently kissed the tears away, then captured Yuugi's mouth again in a deep, passionate, gentle kiss.

Finally, Set was seated fully inside the smaller boy, and stilled there while Yuugi's body adjusted to his length and girth. It was much larger than the boy was expecting, so it had gone much deeper in him than he'd realized it would, but despite the pain, it felt remarkably good, too. It was filling, and as the pain eased, he realized it felt rather natural to have the object filling his body like that, pulsing deep inside him. Arching experimentally, Yuugi found the pain had pretty much faded, even with motion, so was grateful for that.

At his arch, the High Priest began withdrawing—only to slam back in shortly after. He shifted slightly, then did it again, then shifted slightly again. A few more times, Set repeated the process, until he struck a bundle of nerves inside Yuugi's body which made him arch and moan—loudly—as stars fairly danced in front of his eyes. From that point on, the older teen hit that spot with every inward thrust, and all Yuugi could do was cling to him and feel the excruciating pleasure.

It built, and built, and built, until finally, it released, and the smaller boy felt his seed spilling all over their bellies and chests while Set's hot seed filled his body.

 **(END OF LEMON!)**

The older teen laid on him gently, hugging him tightly as they drifted into sleep and Yuugi stored one little fact away to ponder later, when he wasn't so exhausted.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

The next time he woke, Set was caressing Yuugi's side and chest gently with one hand while the other was being used to prop his head up. The older teen was watching his face, so saw his eyes open—and asked with a seriousness which didn't mimic his roaming hand, "Why did the Prince do something so horrible to you?"

Shaking his head a bit, Yuugi whispered, "You stopped him before—"

"We were too late," the High Priest cut him off, the hand dropping. "The physical pain isn't the worst of what he did to you, and you're suffering the full brunt of the _actual_ torment he inflicted on you. What I _don't_ understand is why he would do such a thing to someone he so obviously reveres. Yuugi, please tell me...why did he do that?"

Looking away, the smaller boy answered, "You know, in my own home...just like I look like Atem, there's a guy my age who looks just like you. Kaiba-kun...is someone I would like to...um...have a relationship with...so sometimes I get confused when I'm around you. Atem...had to meet him to realize...it was _you_ he felt that way about. And because there's two pairs of twins involved...Set, I don't believe it's actually _me_ you like at all, I think it's Atem, but to you, he's too far outside your reach...You're using me as a substitute. And the Prince...also knows that. You're interested in me for the wrong reasons, and you pretty much destroyed him by doing so."

"...But he and I _are_ too far apart to have such a relationship. I'm a commoner, and he's—" Set began.

Yuugi sighed and said, "You're not a commoner. Your father is a noble, a very high-rank one. He did something terrible, and knew someday there would be retaliation, so he sent you and your mother away to live as commoners to protect you. Atem...and you...are nearly the same rank. You're related by blood. Atem _also_ knows that, and knows why things happened the way they did."

"Then earlier, why did he emphasize the—" Set began in shock, rising.

"He...changes when he's full of rage," the smaller boy sighed. "He's 'the darkness'. I'm supposed to temper him, but...if I'm...the _cause_ of his rage...I can't do anything..."

"So the fool tried to destroy his own light?" Set barked in anger.

A silence followed, so Set turned to face the door. As though realizing almost too late that he was nude, he paused to grab a towel to wipe off the mess, then pulled a robe on. As he was about to leave, the smaller boy spoke again.

"Set," the boy began, and the older stopped, but didn't face him. "I wasn't supposed to tell you about your actual lineage, and if Atem finds out, he'll be even more angry, so please don't confront him. The timeline can't change, or there won't _be_ a future."

"Stop trying to protect him," Set replied darkly, still not facing him.

"It's true...because Set, I'm from the future."

The anger seeped from the man, then he said quietly, "Stay here and rest." Once he'd given the caution, he left the room.

Out in the main room, the other Guardian-Priests, all but Akhenaten, were gathered.

"What happened?" Karim asked in concern. "I wasn't there, so I'm a bit confused by the Prince being thrown in the dungeon and his 'other self' being brought here."

"Isis?" Set asked her, and she knew what he was asking.

"The Pharaoh agreed to leave his son in the dungeons for a day or two to calm down, as long as he's given proper blankets and food. I agreed to see to it, and have done so. We have whatever time it takes for Atem to...at least _look_ calm," the woman explained, worry lacing her voice.

"Good," the High Priest answered, then met her gaze again and asked, "Do you know Yuugi's origins?"

She blinked and shook her head. "I know only that his homeland is vastly different from ours and that he is critical to our survival right now."

Set took one of the free seats around his table and heaved a sigh. "I'm not so sure about anything right now. Maybe it's critical he's here, but...is it really good for _us_ , as people, for him to be here at this point?"

"Why would you doubt that _now_?" Shada asked with a frown.

"Because Yuugi comes from the future," Mahad answered in a quiet tone. "Unless I am horribly mistaken, he is, in fact, Prince Atem's successor, and the next to hold the title of Pharaoh after him. Otherwise, he could never know how to summon the God Beasts, but apparently, Atem had to caution him not to before our summoning duel the first day he arrived. Which makes it even more of a problem for Atem to try to harm him."

"Do you mean...Yuugi is Atem's son?" Shada asked in horror.

"No," Set answered flatly, and the others stared at him. "It sounds more like Yuugi is Atem's reincarnation. Apparently, I have one, as well."

Mahad's gaze became thoughtful as he said, "That would actually make a lot of sense, if Yuugi was one fragment of Atem's spirit which would be created upon Atem's death...and it sounded as though Atem's death would be a horrible one, but it could not be changed, by the Gods' own orders, since...Yuugi will never exist if the event changes."

"So...the Prince just tried to rape himself...?" Karim asked, expression going rather confused and cross-eyed.

Set glared at him. "Yuugi and Atem may be linked through reincarnation, but they're two different people, and the one Atem just tried to rape is the only one who can keep his rage from getting out of hand. For them, Atem being angry with Yuugi is the worst thing which could happen, and it never would have happened if Yuugi hadn't been put here by force, by the Gods."

"I thought Atem was angry with _you_...?" Mahad asked in confusion.

"So he tried to make it look, but I'm starting to wonder if he even _knew_ who he was angry with," the High Priest sighed as he dropped his head into his hands. "How many nobles here are related to the Pharaoh by blood?"

"Why?" Isis asked in surprise.

"Apparently, according to Yuugi, I'm not a commoner, my father sent my mother and I away to protect us," Set answered, shaking his head. "He told me because of this incident, but I can't tell how much he said about my feelings is true. I didn't think it was the case, but...until I've had time to think about it a bit..."

"There are several noble lines who are blood-related to the Pharaoh, and a number of the members of those lines in the Pharaoh's generation sent at least one wife and child away," Isis told the younger man quietly. "Five I know of who did so coinciding with a child who would be about your age. One noble remarried several years later, so he most likely sent her away just to get rid of her, but the other four have never remarried to this day. We know nothing about the wives or children of those four, either. But, is it so wise to look for information into such a thing, particularly with Akhenaten behaving the way he has been lately?"

"You think my own mentor would turn me away if there was any chance I was actually a noble-born child?" Set asked in amusement. The others paused. "It would stop all chance of anyone claiming I had no right to my position, wouldn't it?"

"Then, here is another question for you," Shada said quietly, making the others look at him. "Are you really sure you want to start digging into that past, when doing so will reveal the horror they inflicted which caused them to have to send you away?"

"...What do you mean?" Set asked with a frown.

"All of the incidences which happened around the time you were born...involved the mass slaughter of innocent people," the bald Priest answered quietly. Set paled. "Why did Yuugi need to tell you such a thing when he also is wise enough to know some things are better off not being known?"

The High Priest sighed as he linked his hands on the table in front of him, then stared down at them. "When I kissed him—the reason Atem was so angry—he accused me of putting my actual feelings for Atem on him because the Prince is 'outside my reach.' Just like his feelings are for my reincarnation in the future, not for _me_ , my feelings are for Atem, not _him_. Because I felt Atem was too far above me in rank..."

"He needed you to know you aren't so far apart as everyone assumes," Mahad nodded in agreement, then frowned in puzzlement. "But that wouldn't help if Atem has no such feelings or has no idea your ranks are actually so close."

"Apparently, Atem's anger came from both having said feeling for me, and from knowing how close our ranks are. It seems to be knowledge acquired in the future, somehow," Set explained. The others' eyes went wide in understanding.

"So then...what will you do?" Karim asked. "Try to decide if you actually have such feelings for the Prince? Or...are you too horrified by what he did?"

Pausing, Set thought about it for a minute, then answered, "I think I have to take the time to sort it out, otherwise, whether it's Yuugi or Atem...I have to be able to prove I mean it when I choose. If I can't...there will always be regret and uncertainty, no matter which one I choose without sorting it. Even if I don't like hearing it...Yuugi _is_ right, and because he and Atem look so much alike, it's easy to just...move one's feelings for one to the other, not to look at each one completely independently."

His words made the others pause and think about it, too. It was Isis who voiced what they were all thinking at the time, "We may _all_ be confusing our feelings for one with the other, potentially _both_ ways, not just one, and if a problem like this is going to arise again, or just continue, the only way to resolve it..." She paused, then finished, "Is to know, without doubt, which feelings are directed at which of them, and how strongly."

"Then...we should take some time tonight to think about it," Karim agreed. "Though I suspect it'll take longer for Set to sort his feelings, ours shouldn't be such a depth, so should be a good deal easier to sort."

Mahad rose and said, "Once you start thinking seriously about the issue, however, you might not find it so easy to resolve. I know I won't. I can't. I'll excuse myself now, then. And Set, you should seriously consider letting another of us take Yuugi." He then walked out, even as Isis rose, bowed, and followed Mahad silently.

"There's truth to Mahad's words, both for Atem's reaction and your own confusion," Shada said quietly, reaching over to rest a hand on Set's shoulder companionably. He then rose and left.

As Karim also rose and turned to the door, the High Priest asked, "Could you use the Scales to help me weigh my heart?"

Pausing, the other man asked, "Do you have so little faith in your own ability to sort your own feelings, Set?"

"It's...hard for me to weigh a feeling I don't actively know I have."

"Then wouldn't it be better to ask Yuugi if there's a tangible reason besides their looks which makes him think you like Atem? Set, you risk losing your soul entirely if I use the Scales to weigh you, so I'd rather not use them for a personal issue."

Karim left, and Set stayed sitting at the table for awhile, deep in thought, before going back to his room, where Yuugi still laid on the bed. The boy's eyes opened as the older teen sat on the cushion, so Set couldn't resist leaning down to kiss him—only to find Yuugi rolling away from him.

"We can't do this. I'm sorry," Yuugi answered softly.

"If it's just because 'Atem won't like it,' then forget him," the other teen frowned.

"No, it's because it's not right for _you_ , either."

At the smaller boy's soft words, Set sat back. He remembered Karim's words, so asked quietly, "What makes you think I have romantic desires for the Prince?"

To his surprise, Yuugi gave a single, sad, soft chuckle. "I don't _think_ it, I _know_ it."

"Then why did you let me bed you?"

"What I now know without doubt came from letting you bed me."

For a moment, Set was absolutely still and silent, not liking the implications of the boy's words. "What do you mean?" he finally asked, over a minute later.

"When we were...um...climaxing...it wasn't _my_ name you called, Set," Yuugi told him in a soft voice, cheeks a bit red from embarrassment about the sexual talk. He felt the older teen freeze, so rolled over to face him and sat up, meeting his stunned gaze.

"It was Atem's."


	6. 06-Unusual Request

Unusual Request

Set fled his chambers in the Temple after hearing those words, his head spinning with combined horror and disbelief. The horror came from how badly he'd treated Yuugi by calling someone else's name during their time together, and the disbelief came from having called another name, and Atem's on top of it. Either Yuugi was lying to him, which he somehow couldn't bring himself to believe, or he really _did_ have such deep feelings for the Prince. None of that would help him sleep, and it was already time for the Palace lamps and lanterns to be put out for the night.

Before long, he found himself in the dark halls in the dungeons—and began searching the cells for Atem. The reason he found the right one so quickly...was because the blankets and food he'd been given were all sitting outside the bars, not in them with the one they'd been brought for. They were all within easy reach of the bars, but hadn't been touched. When he looked inside the cell, Atem was sitting slumped against the back wall, body limp and eyes staring blankly at the floor in front of him, face twisted in an expression of pain.

"Atem?" he asked tentatively.

"Go away!" the Prince fairly yelled in a broken, rough voice. It sounded like his voice had been overused earlier and was almost ready to give out, and a closer look showed Atem had been crying.

Pausing, Set asked, "Why haven't you brought the blankets into the cell? Even I can tell it's cold in here."

The other teen gave a snort and asked, "Why do _you_ care? You don't give a damned about me now that Yuugi's here, and frankly, by the crime I committed, I should be executed. That's how order is maintained, isn't it? 'The light's' here, so 'the darkness' isn't needed anymore. Go ahead and replace me with Yuugi— _everyone_ will be happier that way!"

Again, Set hesitated, but was actually shocked by the reason he did—he actually found himself so _angry_ at Atem's absurdity he wanted to hit the Prince! Once he'd gotten the feeling under control, he retorted in anger, "Are you even _sane_ after saying so many absurd things in one breath?"

The question produced extremely unstable laughter from the other young man, worrying Set. "Am I sane? Would I have tried to—to— _rape_ —Yuugi, if I was?" And in the next moment, he broke down in tears. "What have I done...Yuugi, what have I...?"

And Set realized why Atem was still in the dungeon. "Did you...were you...not actually...intending to hurt Yuugi, but to break _yourself_ with what you did?"

"Heh, where's _your_ sanity, High Priest Set, asking me such a thing?" As Atem looked up at him, what Set saw reminded him eerily of a lion on the prowl, going in for the kill. There was no longer any question—Atem had shattered _himself_ by harming Yuugi, and even he was too distraught to see it.

Drawing the Rod from his belt at his back, Set held it up and focussed on Atem, saying, "Get up and come here."

The Prince's eyes went completely blank as he rose and stumbled to the bars, where Set released him from the Rod's hold—and reached through the bars in an instant to slap Atem across the face as hard as he could. The smaller teen lifted his hand to his now-sore cheek, eyes becoming clear as he stared at Set in shocked amazement. Once he was sure Atem was calm, Set rested his hand on his shoulder.

"Did you...just _hit_ me?" Atem asked in surprise.

The High Priest's gaze softened. "I had to—you were starting to not even make logical sense anymore. Yes, what you did was bad, but...you regret it, don't you? It isn't something you'll ever do again, or you're a fool, and even Yuugi...even after what you did to him, he was _still_ trying to protect you. The only reason you're in the dungeons is to cool down, not because anyone is going to do anything to you, and all of us...even as confused as we are by your behavior...we all still care about you. At the same time, Yuugi alerted us to a very serious problem...That the two of you look so much alike we've pretty much all gotten some of our feelings for one of you confused with our feelings for the other. Part of what happened could have been prevented if we'd been aware sooner of how we were 'moving' our feelings. And I suspect, if there _really is_ another man you know who looks like me... _your_ feelings are somewhat confused, too."

Atem went tense and asked, "How do you know that?"

"Yuugi told me there was a man in his homeland who looks like me, and it's that man he has feelings for. It turned into flat-out rejection," Set answered with a wryly amused grin.

"...You don't seem too bothered by it..." the Prince commented slowly.

With a shrug, the older teen said, "I haven't had much time to consider it yet, given this current mess. He was just...sure it wasn't him I had those feelings for."

"Then don't come here!" Atem suddenly glared, pulling back, dropping his hand from his sore cheek, and heading back for the rear wall.

His attitude made Set mad, so he threatened, "Do I have to use the Rod again, to _make_ you come back here and face me?"

"There's nothing to face when you smell like sex," Atem hissed. "So much for 'rejection'." He threw himself against the wall, turned his back to it, and dropped to the hard, stone floor of the cell.

"That's not—"

"Don't try to tell me it was someone other than Yuugi!" the Prince answered, a glare in his eyes—a glare which was trying desperately to cover deep pain, like he'd been stabbed through the heart.

"Atem, that was because of what _you_ did to him," Set glared. "He didn't have the strength or the desire to stop me until he'd gotten over the shock of what happened. As soon as he did, he told me simply it won't happen again. Don't jump to the worst possible conclusion when you don't know anything about what's happened in the last half a day."

"Heh..." Atem snorted, looking down at the ground. "Just...go away. I don't want to know, or hear, or see, anything else. So just...go away."

"But if you don't—"

"Go away!" the Prince yelled, holding his hands to his head and hunching.

After a silence, the High Priest sighed and said, "This isn't over, Atem." He then walked away, realizing the other teen—through his own carelessness—had just been put back into the shattered, insane state he'd been trying to get him out of.

As he was wondering what else he could do or where else he could go in the now-dark Palace, Set suddenly stopped and stared. He was in one of the outer halls, the ones open to the air, and that fact meant there was some light, a light which made everything look like shades of gray. Except, not too far ahead of him, a pale, yellow-orange light shone on the stone—and a human—around it.

Silently approaching the person, Set was surprised to see the Pharaoh holding a lamp and staring worriedly out at the area past the half-wall. "My Pharaoh, are you well?" he asked from a respectful distance—outside sword range.

The older man tensed and spun to face him, then relaxed when the light shone on Set's face and clothing. "High Priest, how unusual. I thought you would be tending the boy, given my son's inability to do so." The light reflecting off the Millennium Puzzle the Pharaoh wore drew Set's eyes and he had to force himself to focus again on the man's face.

"Yuugi is sleeping, or should be at this hour," Set answered the indirect question. "As should you, My Pharaoh."

"And you as well, as you apparently rose too quickly to remember a lamp," the older man replied in mild amusement.

Shaking his head wanly, the High Priest answered, "No, this was somewhat accidental. I left Yuugi to rest and went to visit His Highness, and had intended on leaving before dark fell, but...things rarely go as planned."

"Certainly, of late more than ever," the Pharaoh agreed, his expression becoming worried as he turned back to the view over the half-wall.

"What seems to be the matter?" Set asked with a worried frown.

"The dignitaries from the north come tomorrow, and my son was supposed to be present as one of the representatives of our land, but in his current condition...I doubt he would be capable of doing so, even were he not in the dungeons..." the man admitted with a tired sigh.

"...What would be required of the Prince during the meetings?" the High Priest asked in a thoughtful tone.

"Nothing much, mainly just to be present. He may have a question or two directed at him, but those would be random at worst and non-existent at best. At this point, he would not even have a requirement to sign a treaty or trade agreement. Why?" the Pharaoh asked, looking back at Set questioningly.

"Yuugi can fill in for the Prince for a day, or for two, if it becomes necessary," Set replied. He knew he was putting a lot of faith in Yuugi being Atem's future incarnation, but it was their best bet to preserve the peace. After all, the only way both the Prince and Pharaoh would be needed in the meetings, even just for show, was if it was an absolute requirement.

"Can a common child truly fill the role of the Prince should he be asked questions?" the older man asked in concern, sitting down on the half-wall and holding the light above his head so he could see the High Priest better.

Set stepped forward and bowed, then said, "My Pharaoh, I have reason to believe Yuugi will be able to do this. Dressed as the Prince, he would look so much like him even _we_ would have difficulty telling the two apart, and he is a highly intelligent young man. More, the bond he and Atem share, and some of the things Yuugi is aware of as a result, lead me to think they have shared many personal events and lessons with each other, so the younger of them should be able to give a believable response if he _is_ asked any questions. I would not suggest him if I felt it would be a detriment to you. However, there is one thing..."

"And that is?"

"Yuugi may legitimately see something neither you nor the Prince would notice, My Pharaoh, so please, if he has something he must tell you during a break in the meetings, hear him out, listen to his words as you would your son's. He will not ask things which are fool's questions or say things which are irrelevant to the situation."

For a minute, the man sat quietly and thought about Set's words, lowering the lamp to his knee as he did. He then looked up at the younger man and said, "I would like to meet with him to ask him personally if he would be willing to help. If he is so willing, I will take your words into consideration."

"Very well. This way, My Pharaoh," the High Priest agreed, turning to lead the way to his chambers in the Temple.

When they got there, the Pharaoh sat at the table without being asked or offered, and said, "I will wait here while you wake him."

With a nod and bow, the High Priest went into his sleeping chamber, where Yuugi slept on the cushions. Shaking his shoulder gently, he grinned as the smaller boy scrunched up his face while waking, something like a young child or an animal would do. He then leaned close to him and said softly, "Sorry to wake you, but the Pharaoh has a problem he needs to discuss with you."

"Huh...?" Yuugi asked sleepily. "The Pharaoh...with me? Why?"

"Because Atem currently can't fill his role, but he's needed to keep the peace. And that means _you_ need to help us," the High Priest explained as he rose and went to the boxes where he stored his clothes, looking for something which would fit Yuugi.

"...You mean, pretend to be the Prince?" Yuugi gasped, sitting up suddenly as he came wide awake.

Having found a decent robe, Set faced the boy again and threw it so it landed on Yuugi's head. Yuugi yelped in surprise and pulled it off him as the High Priest replied, "It'll only be for a day, maybe two, and most of what you'll need to do is just be present for the discussions, not to _participate_ in them. You don't have to sign anything, and if you're asked a question, which you probably won't be, I'm sure you can divert it or answer it well enough for them to be satisfied."

"But Set, I've never done anything like this before!" Yuugi gasped.

The older teen met his gaze evenly and said, "I know, and I know you aren't a fool, Yuugi. I wouldn't have made the offer if I didn't think you'd be able to do it. The other Priests and I can teach you some things you'll need to do or ways to behave or other similar things tomorrow morning. And you need to talk with the Pharaoh."

With a sigh, Yuugi pulled the robe on and got up to follow the High Priest into the main room, where the Pharaoh was waiting. "This is Pharaoh Ahknemkhanen," Set said to Yuugi, then to the older man, he said, "This is Prince Atem's guest, Yuugi."

The older man nodded, and indicated Yuugi should sit across from him, so the smaller teen did, sitting straight and looking into the man's eyes evenly, waiting quietly for the conversation to begin. After a silence, to Set and Yuugi's surprise, the Pharaoh smiled. "Did no one ever teach you to bow to the nobility?" the Pharaoh asked, his tone sounding completely amused.

Yuugi smiled wryly and said, "No, it's not that...actually, in my homeland, to be 'properly polite' you have to bow to everyone around you at all times. The thing is...I traveled a lot, and many other kingdoms near my homeland had no such rules about politeness, and a lot of people were more likely to bow to me than to make me bow to them. Some of them even got mad at me for bowing. That's why I stopped."

Blinking in surprise, the man asked, "Were you a noble after all?"

Shaking his head, the boy replied, "I was a commoner who also happened to be so good at games no one could beat me. One game in particular was taken up by nearly all the kingdoms nearby, so when I was...er...forced to join the tournaments for it, and won them, I got to be really popular in all those kingdoms. Everyone knew me."

For a minute, Ahknemkhanen was silent, then asked—to Set's surprise—of the boy, "Has my son taught you common games in this kingdom, and if so, has your ability to win continued here?"

"Atem has been teaching me some of them, like the one with the lights, and unless I lose on purpose, I've either won or tied with him. To help me learn actual control over my power, Set turned my lesson into a game of manipulating balls of water. What he and I have been doing in my lessons was eerily similar to a game Atem showed me, and played with me nearly every evening since I got here. That one, it's harder when Set and I play it because of the lesson rules, but with Atem, about half the time we draw and half the time I win. I lost once on purpose because I was tired and didn't want to play anymore. Why would that matter, though?"

"He taught you...the Royal's Hand?" the Pharaoh asked in surprise.

"Yes...Was he not supposed to?" Yuugi asked in concern.

"Apparently, if the High Priest is also aware of the game, it has extended beyond just the nobility," the man replied in amusement.

"You can thank Vizier-Priest Akhenaten for teaching me the game in question—he said as the High Priest, I was now included amongst the nobility," Set answered the implied question. Yuugi looked amused by the answer.

The Pharaoh nodded. "I thought something to the effect had been the case," he said to the High Priest, then turned his gaze back to Yuugi. "If you know it, that is all to the good, since he also taught you a required skill of a Prince of Egypt. May I hear your best approximation of royal speech, in the event you may need to speak to the northern delegates?"

"Eh?" the boy blinked in surprise, then paused to think about how he would reply. Once he had, he asked carefully, "What, exactly, would you like me to say?"

Set blinked in surprise as the Pharaoh considered the question, then said, "You say you are highly skilled at 'games' in your homeland. What kinds of 'games' do you mean? Dangerous ones, ones based on luck, ones which require strategy, ones which the Gods command, or others entirely?"

Yuugi's expression became wryly amused. "All kinds of games. Ones which take place in the Shadow Realm, ones which are pure luck, ones which require planning and tactics, puzzles of all sorts, and once, even a judgment by a deity like Ma'at. Many of them were dangerous, sometimes where my grandfather or friends were in danger, and a few times where whole kingdoms stood to be destroyed. None of them were games I could afford to lose, but I had always been interested in games since I was a small child, and knew how to play most of them. Even when faced with a game I knew nothing about, I was able to adapt quickly and win the game regardless. Part of it could be simple luck, but...my 'luck' goes well beyond normal boundaries. In my homeland, there are those who feel I have the God of Luck's hand on me, and others think I have even cheated, but whenever they try to challenge me, no matter the setting or suddenness, I still find the strength and skill to win. When we have been forced to set foot in old, trap-ridden temples and tombs, I can only be thankful for my knowledge and luck in games."

The High Priest went cross-eyed as Ahknemkhanen smiled and asked, "Have you got a heel-bone at hand, High Priest Set?"

"Yes, My Pharaoh, just a moment," the younger man said, going to one of his shelves of objects and scanning it. A moment later, he returned with the object.

Holding it out towards Yuugi, the older man said, "This is a simple game of pure luck. We each roll three times, alternating, unless there is a draw on all three rolls or one win, one loss, and a draw for each of us. Each side is numbered, from one to six. The winner of each pair of rolls is the one with the lower number. Winning two or more rolls is the requirement to win."

"It sounds fairly simple. Are there terms to this, or are you merely testing my luck?" Yuugi asked shrewdly.

Again, the Pharaoh smiled. "You _are_ alert. Yes. If you lose this 'game', I will let my brother have you for one day, on the restriction that he is not allowed to take your life. I trust, with the way he has been presented to you by the other Guardian-Priests and my son, you will find that sufficient incentive to allow your luck to flow. If you win, you may state a term you would like fulfilled."

"...Would it be more practical for me to state it now, so you can tell me if you even have the capability of granting the term?" Yuugi asked in a dry tone.

"There is such a term for the Pharaoh?" the man asked in obvious surprise.

"Just, for example, I could ask you to return me to my homeland," the boy said in a quiet tone—and the man's eyes widened. "Because the Gods brought me here, though, that is a term you would be unable to fulfill, even were I to demand it."

"He has a valid point, My Pharaoh," the High Priest commented. "Since he has already given a clear example of something neither you nor any man in this land could grant him."

After a silence, the Pharaoh nodded. "Very well. State the term now, and I will inform you if it is within my power to give you."

That time, it was Yuugi's turn to fall silent. Then, after a minute, he said softly, "Atem has someone he cares for very much, but normally, if the relationship were to develop, others would have issue with it. If they ever...begin a relationship, and keep it between themselves and possibly a few trusted friends, please, either give them your blessing or turn a blind eye to it."

Both Set's eyes and Ahknemkhanen's widened at that, then the man asked, "Not a term for yourself?"

"My time here is limited," Yuugi replied. "Atem will make much better use of any agreement than I will, and also...even after what happened earlier, I care deeply for him, and I want him to be able to be happy when I leave again. That...would also be better for all of your people...the people Atem will one day rule."

For a minute, the man was silent, then nodded and asked, "And the name of the one he cares for?"

"I must say it for your ears alone," Yuugi informed the man shrewdly.

"Why?" Set frowned.

"Because both that person and Atem have issues independently and with each other to resolve first," the boy told Set with a gaze which unnerved him and made him look away.

"Very well," the Pharaoh agreed, beckoning Yuugi over to him. Yuugi went around the table to the man and leaned down to whisper in his ear. The man's eyes widened in complete shock, then he sighed and nodded. "I agree to your term. Shall we begin, then?"

Yuugi went back to his seat and sat as he said, "Yes."

With that, the Pharaoh cast the first roll of the 'die'.


	7. 07-Playing Prince

Playing Prince

The next morning, the Guardian-Priests, all but Akhenaten again, were in Set's room, sitting around the table with Yuugi as they listened to the new situation.

"So what you're saying is that the meeting is so important the 'Prince' _needs_ to be present, and because Atem is half insane right now, Yuugi must fill the role?" Karim asked as Yuugi stared sleepily down at his hands.

"Pretty much," Set agreed. "The Pharaoh asked him last night, and liked the way he handled himself enough to be willing to go through with it for now. And Yuugi agreed, since his actual _participation_ will be limited. Mostly, he's supposed to act as part of the furniture, to be there for looks, so it should be fine, and there's always the chance he'll be completely ignored."

"Of course, I also—(yawn)—didn't get much sleep last night because of the Pharaoh's visit..." Yuugi added sleepily in a soft voice.

"If you need to call him anything during the meetings, you'll have to remember to refer to him as 'my Father, the Pharaoh', not just as either 'my Father' or 'the Pharaoh'," Isis told the boy shrewdly.

"My Father, the Pharaoh..." Yuugi repeated obediently, then rubbed his eyes and straightened, shaking off the lack of sleep. "I need some sugar."

All of them stared at him with wide, surprised eyes, then Shada asked, "Er, no offense meant, but...why?"

"I'll probably fall asleep without it," Yuugi answered dryly.

"Try dropping a pail of cold water on yourself," Karim offered in amusement.

"Since when is water cold in Egypt?" the younger boy asked dryly.

"After a long night, it happens to be _very_ cold," Mahad replied. "Shall I show you?"

Before anyone could answer, he motioned with his hand—and a funnel of water shot out of thin air above Yuugi's head, drenching the boy in icy water as he cried out in shock and the others stared. The water's entrance point into the room vanished and the water stopped pouring down, but Yuugi, the floor, a few of the stools around Yuugi's, and part of the table were all soaked. The boy actually glared balefully at Mahad from under the hair and bangs which were now plastered to his head, wrapping his arms around himself as his teeth chattered and goosebumps rose all over his body.

A moment later, Set snorted, which made Shada and Karim chuckle. Isis and Mahad just smiled in amusement. And Yuugi—gave his head a rapid shake back and forth, somewhat like an animal shaking water out of their fur. The result made all the others jump up and bolt away from the table, but not until they'd already gotten sprayed with water droplets. He then ran his fingers through his soaked hair—and gave his head another shake, keeping the Priests from sitting again.

The boy then looked down at his now-clingy, see-through, soaked, white robe before facing Set and saying, "I need a change of clothes, since I can't walk around in something see-through or I'll be _inviting_ trouble."

"Fine, I'll find something..." Set agreed wanly, then looked at Mahad and asked, "Did you _have_ to soak my room, though?"

"Yours dries fast," Mahad replied.

"That's not the point..." the High Priest scowled.

"I know," Mahad answered in wicked amusement. "Consider it a mild punishment for taking advantage of Yuugi yesterday."

"Of what?" the other Priests asked in surprise.

A new voice said, "Apparently, the High Priest bedded the boy while said boy was in a state of mind where he no longer _cared_ what happened to him." Everyone turned to look in surprise, only to see a rather amused Akhenaten standing at the doorway to the room, leaning on the jamb. "But Priest Mahad, if you intended it to be a 'mild punishment' for Set, why did you drench _the boy_?"

"He needed something to wake him up fully," Mahad replied, frowning. "Why did you come here, Priest Akhenaten?"

"For the same reason you were told to come this morning, Mahad. You and I have the responsibility of preparing the—acting Prince—for the meetings today. The only benefit we have is that of half a morning to prepare. As such, once the boy is in a dry robe, we need to head for the Prince's chambers for the marks of the Crown Prince," Akhenaten informed the two.

"Wait a minute, the High Priest...are you saying he did to Yuugi what he and Mahad kept Atem from doing to him?" Karim asked in concern.

"Not exactly," Akhenaten shrugged. "And it actually turned out to be a good thing he did it, for them both. So you don't misunderstand, Set at least asked if it was all right for him to take it so far, and did everything he could to prepare and please the boy, unlike Atem, who fully intended on causing him pain at the time. He simply took advantage of a weak moment, though he is not the first to do so, nor will he be the last. Many a man and woman has taken advantage of the weakest moments of others, and many who are yet to come will also do so. If that is a crime, then much of the world must be punished."

"That's—That would be correct," Yuugi agreed. "Much of the world _should_ be punished on such a technicality. However, that leaves no allowance for either human error or human growth, so 'taking advantage' is not necessarily the best term to use. I am well aware of what happened, and I allowed it, just for the sake of feeling _something_ and to feel gentleness. I doubt I would have been in any condition to meet the Pharaoh or make any such arrangements had I not been given such a burst of pure emotion—emotion which overtook my thoughts so my mind could settle from the shock. Priests, and Priest Mahad in particular, there is nothing for you to punish, and this is an issue which need not be discussed further."

All of the Priests stared at him, including Akhenaten, even as he looked around and met all their gazes evenly. The last person he made eye contact with was Akhenaten, and the man blinked at him in surprise before reaching up to touch the Eye taking the place of one of his eye sockets.

"It does not affect me, Priest Akhenaten. You can only read what I _choose_ to _show_ you," Yuugi told the man quietly. "That was a hard-learned lesson which nearly cost my grandfather, my friends, myself, and many others, their lives. In fact, I have immunity to the effects of most of the items in existence which allow such abilities, be they the Millennium Items of Egypt or the blessed items in Greece, Jerusalem, India, China, or any other land. And to warn you—I am not the only one in this world with such immunity to such skills, so it would be best if you stopped _relying_ on those powers. They become a crutch far too easily as the world changes."

Yuugi then rose, stretched, and headed for Set's personal chambers, leaving the others staring after him in shock and amazement. One thought they could all agree on, though—if anyone could pull off pretending to be the Prince, Yuugi could do it.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

Yuugi had been given a crash course in things Atem took for granted, like where he had to stand, how he had to stand in the formal meetings as opposed to the less formal ones, and what his cues to move around were. He'd potentially also have to hand out something if 'his father' gave him scrolls or sheets of papyrus to hand out to the other attendees, so he had to know when to act and formalities of handing them out. Since Akhenaten would also be in the meeting with him, in a similar capacity as the Pharaoh's brother, the tasks would be split between them.

Now, he stood in the room to the left of 'his father's' seat, while Akhenaten stood to the right of it, and wore the full garb Atem would usually wear for formal occasions. It was fairly heavy, even for the Prince, but that was also partly the result of being the Crown Prince, rather than just 'a Prince'. He still pitied Atem for having to wear so much and stand there for hours on end, especially as the day grew hotter and the only air conditioning they had were servants waving large, peacock-feather, hand-held fans.

There was just one other problem—and Yuugi only noticed because the proceedings were so new to him he was paying close attention to them. One of the visitor's servants dripped a dark liquid in some of the cups.

When they stopped for the midday meal, while on their way to the Great Hall, Yuugi gently tugged the Pharaoh's sleeve and leaned close to him, so the man leaned down to hear the boy's whisper. "I'm not sure, but I think it's a problem—one of the delegates' servants was dripping a dark liquid in the cups of other delegates sitting nearby."

"Which ones?" the man asked immediately, keeping his voice to a whisper as well.

"The ones on the right around the middle of the table, where that...Lord Jason was sitting, and those about four seats to either side of him. It was...Lord Alyson's servant, so his cup wasn't infected," Yuugi answered, trying hard to remember the names.

"I thought something was a bit odd there..." the Pharaoh muttered. He then looked down at Yuugi and said, "Find the Priestess Isis before you take your place at my side in the Great Hall, tell her what happened, and let her handle the rest."

"I will," Yuugi agreed readily, then turned off when they came to a cross-hall on the way to the Great Hall.

Once he was there, though, he thought to wonder how he'd find his way to Isis, let alone back to the Great Hall—then remembered to look up at the ceiling. Now that he could read the basic script, he could tell more-or-less where he was, and he had a pretty good idea of where he'd accidentally found her before, when he'd gotten lost in the Palace. In short, he'd found her in the hospital wing of the Palace, in the rooms where the healing herbs were kept.

And, sure enough, he found her in the third such room. She was startled at first, but when he explained the situation, she understood and said she'd have it taken care of, so he could head for the Great Hall—unless he was lost again? He assured her he could find his way there now that he knew about the signs, and left to rejoin the party. He was going to enter through the main doors—only to see Akhenaten waiting there.

"What?" he asked the man curiously.

"I thought you would come this way, since you were never shown the royal doors into the Great Hall," the man answered. "You can't come in through these doors during mealtime as the Prince, barring an emergency announcement. That isn't what happened or why you didn't arrive with your 'Father', so you need to use the royal doors. This way." With that, the elderly man led him to the correct doors.

"Priest Akhenaten..." Yuugi began in a very soft tone, just before they would have stepped into the Great Hall. The older man stopped and faced him with a raised brow, so the boy asked, "If you... _dislike_ me so much...why are you helping me now?"

"I dislike you, but I'm no fool," the man replied, reaching over to rest a hand on Yuugi's shoulder. "The current circumstances depend too much on your presence, so for the time being, I've set aside whatever dislike I have for you. I thought you had done the same by your companionability."

"I'm like that all the time," Yuugi told him in amusement. "Atem hates it because I'm not suspicious enough of people, and I actually don't have any reason to think you'll hurt me, even if you don't like me, Priest Akhenaten. Everyone's assuming the worst for some reason, and in Atem's case, I know why, but the others don't actually have valid reason to suspect you of doing anything wrong, so I guess they're just catching it from Atem."

"But you aren't?" the gray haired man asked in as much amusement.

"I'm 'the light' exactly because I can still see the good in others, even after they've harmed me personally. Trust actually works wonders on getting people to choose the right path rather than the wrong one," the boy chuckled.

Akhenaten paused, then gave him an honest smile, his good eye showing respect. "For a commoner who appeared from nowhere, you seem to have more sense than most of the people I can name. I assume your common roots are the reason you and the High Priest get along so well?"

"You know as well as I do that Set's 'roots' aren't 'common'," Yuugi said in pure amusement, making the man's eyes widen in something like alarm. "No, I haven't told anyone, nor will I, and in the meantime, we get along because I'm too mellow for his strict intensity to get to me, and my kindness eases his tension and suspicion." The boy paused as his stomach grumbled, then he asked the stunned man, "Can we go inside and eat now, please?"

After another moment, the man nodded and opened the door to lead Yuugi into the Great Hall. Sure enough, they were behind the Pharaoh's seat, so he, as the Prince, went to the left-hand seat, the one where he'd always seen Atem sit. The Pharaoh gave him a nod, so he returned it, then the man began a whispered conversation with his brother, who sat on his right. The meal progressed quietly for the most part, but the man sitting beside Yuugi—the son of one of the northern lords—decided to make the meal more interesting.

The lord's son started playing with his food, making it into pictures—one even of Yuugi himself, making him chuckle, and getting the man to look up at him. "I thought you would be offended," the lord's son said dryly.

"You would not be the first to do such...pointless activities with your food. I assume you have no great love for the flavor?" Yuugi asked good-naturedly.

After a startled blink, the man agreed, "This...does not seem to suit a...northern taste very well."

Yuugi nodded and reached over to pick up a dish sitting near 'his father's' plate, then placed it between the other man's and his own. "This one may suit your tastes better," he told the man, who blinked, then tentatively tested the food.

His eyes widened a moment later as he said, "This is good! What is it?"

"Lamb marinated in an herbal sauce using pomegranate as its main ingredient," Yuugi answered. "I have no idea what the other ingredients are, though."

Taking a full helping of the food Yuugi had offered, the man said, "Thank you for offering this to me, Prince Atem. I would have been of little use to the meetings and agreements after the meal without some decent food. But are you certain my—er—playing earlier did not offend you?"

"Believe me, you would not be the first to create such images of me," Yuugi said in pure amusement, thinking back to all of his and Atem's friends—in this case, including Mana and the Priests. "One of the young mage apprentices here was angry with me, so made some very... _profane_ images of me at one point. Her master was livid, but they were rather attractive, all the same. Of course, she was doing it through means other than food, so the detail was a good deal more graphic, as well."

At that, the man gave a very un-noble-like snort, making his father turn around from the next seat and slap him across the back of the head. "Do not behave in such an uncouth manner in such a place, or I will make you regret it," the lord told his son with a glare. "Do not reveal your association with commoners at this table."

"With all due respect, Lord Orion, your words revealed much more to 'this table' than your son's behavior," Yuugi told the man dryly, motioning around at the several people nearby who were now staring at them.

Silence fell as the lord's son shot Yuugi a grateful look, then the lord proceeded to ignore his son completely for the rest of the meal. Everything was quiet after that, and they proceeded to the afternoon meetings with no further issue. Or, at least, it was no further issue until someone asked if commoners would even purchase the item under discussion, only for Lord Orion to cut in with something completely unrelated.

"Speaking of commoners, does the Royal Prince of Egypt associate with such creatures?" the lord asked with a rather cruel smirk, and complete silence fell.

Yuugi looked at the Pharaoh, who paused, then gave him a little nod. Looking at the northern lord and meeting his gaze evenly, the boy asked, "Shall I explain a peculiarity in Egypt, Lord Orion?" The man—and nearly everyone else at the table—frowned in confusion, so he went on, "The position of 'High Priest' goes to the one who has shown the highest scores on the religious tests. By default, the title itself makes its holder a noble. However, the current High Priest was _raised as a commoner_ , and his scores are the highest anyone has ever before seen. Am I associating with a commoner or a noble, then? You must answer that question for yourselves, because to me, the High Priest is a noble worthy of his rank."

A very long silence fell, then the Pharaoh asked dryly, "May we proceed with the actual item under discussion if that curiosity has been cleared up now?"

The rest of the meeting went as planned, with no interruption, and the evening meal was quiet. Much of the evening meeting was also fairly quiet, and with the cooler temperatures, it was actually a much more pleasant experience. Still, Yuugi's feet and legs were starting to hurt, making him pity Atem again, and he wished he could sit down to rest. It looked like the meeting would end peacefully, until they were talking about martial forces and what kind of military associations they would have. And clearly, the northern lords were trying to poke holes in Egypt's defenses. The Pharaoh and his brother fended them off admirably, but Yuugi already suspected he would be drawn in to the discussion by the way it was going. And he was.

"What does Prince Atem think of the city's defenses, given how few guards there are? His safety depends on them, after all," one of the other lords asked in a tone which clearly meant he felt the virtually silent Prince would be the weak link.

"Hmm?" Yuugi murmured, his expression amused. "My well-being depends a good deal more on the Guardians—our most powerful Priests—than it does on the guards in the city or the Palace. I also feel your skills of observation are somewhat lacking, or you simply do not know what all our guards and soldiers look like, both things which could be remedied if you chose to _open your eyes and observe_."

"We've seen servants and priests more than we have guards," another lord pointed out in a somewhat smug tone.

Raising a brow, Yuugi pointed with his chin at a pillar to the side of the room. "Just as an example of how few guards you readily _see_ , take a close look over there, at that pillar. Or rather, at the space behind it. If you believe we are weak or have very few guards, you are sorely mistaken. Should you refuse to deal with us as equals, you would find yourself outmatched in short order, so please, deal with us as equals."

When the others took a close look behind the pillar Yuugi indicated, they could vaguely see a shape there. And apparently, the Shadow Guard there decided to oblige the Prince and step into the open to bow silently to Prince and Pharaoh before stepping back into the shadows behind the pillar, vanishing from view again. The lords all stared when they realized how much they could potentially have missed, so turned to look at the Prince and Pharaoh warily.

"Was that a threat?" a lord asked warily.

"Not at all," the Pharaoh answered in amusement. "It was merely an indication for you to reconsider your position, given how little you know about us. I would also like to add that you happen to be on our land, a land you do not know and could not survive in without our help. The desert land is useless to you, so it would not be in your best interests to attempt any kind of control over this land."

Silence fell for a long time, then discussion continued—fairly. When the meetings were over that day, the Pharaoh motioned Yuugi to follow him from the room, so the boy did, only to find Akhenaten also falling in with them. Soon after, they were in the Pharaoh's personal chambers, and the man sagged onto the pillows tiredly.

"Yuugi, how did you even _know_ about the Shadow Guards?" the Pharaoh asked tiredly. "Let alone somehow prompt one to show himself?"

"Er...I can find _most_ of them when I choose to look," Yuugi answered in amusement. "Atem told me what they were after I found the first one and told him about it. Then, I went to talk with one of them about who and what they are, so if that was the same one I talked to before—I think he was—maybe that's why. Basically, because he respects me for finding them, as an outsider and commoner, when even most of the nobles who know they're there can't find them."

"That's impossible," Akhenaten frowned.

Looking at the men evenly, Yuugi said, "My Pharaoh, I enjoy games. In my homeland, we have games called 'hidden object' games. We are given an image and a list of items, and in the image, we must find all those items listed. Some aren't hidden at all, but others are pretty much invisible, they blend so well with the image. To me, the Shadow Guards are a kind of 'hidden object' game, where the 'list' consists of a large number of the same item, rather than a variety of different ones."

At those words, the man looked amused, then said, "You did well today, Yuugi. I feel a good deal better about having you here now, despite how much I wish it was Atem instead. Go rest—you have earned it."

"Thank you. I will," Yuugi agreed with a smile, then left.


	8. 08-Chaotic

Chaotic

Yuugi was woken earlier than he wanted to be the next morning; he had been sleeping rather soundly in Atem's room, but woke to Mahad shaking his shoulder. When the man saw his eyes open, he said, "You'll need to play Prince again today, Yuugi. It shouldn't be as bad as yesterday, and you have until the morning meal to do as you like, so about a candle mark. Normally, I would let you sleep, but I just felt there was something you needed to do."

The boy sat up sleepily, yawned, and stretched, then put some serious thought into what Mahad was saying. A light went off in his head and he said, "I need to see _him_."

"...You mean...the same one who caused you so much pain?" the man asked in concern.

"Yes," the younger man answered simply, calmly.

With a sigh and nod, Mahad said, "This way, then." Yuugi got up and pulled a robe and sandals on quickly, then the two left the room to head for the dungeons. As they walked, the Priest said quietly, "Even the Egyptian nobles can't tell the difference between you and Prince Atem, so you've done an impressive job. Just the same, until the Prince can take his role again, you must play his role when in public. You're likely to be seen if you go to the dungeons, and the only benefit you have is that we Guardians and the Pharaoh and Prince _do_ , in fact, visit the dungeons to meet and pass judgment on criminals."

"That's good to know, and I still have to see him, Mahad," Yuugi replied.

For the rest of the walk, the two were silent, and everyone ignored them, other than to bow to 'the Prince'. They came to the head of a darkened stairway leading downward, and the man said, "Down these steps is the dungeons. Shall we?"

As he was about to go down, the boy asked, "Actually, could you wait here for me, Mahad?"

Mahad turned to look at him, about to protest, then saw the steady, calm gaze he was met with and relented, "Very well, as you wish, My Prince."

"Don't call me that, Mahad. You're my _friend_ , after all," Yuugi replied automatically—and blinked in surprise when the Priest's lips twitched in amusement.

"The similarity between you can be equally amusing and frightening," the Priest said with a grin. "Now, did he tell you my reply?"

Pausing for a moment, Yuugi thought about it, then let out a sigh and replied, "That you'll call me by whatever title and name you feel I'm worth."

"That's right. Go see the one you need to see."

Nodding, the boy headed down the stairs and followed the torchlight through the more-or-less straight tunnel. It opened into a large room with a pit in the middle of it, a pit filled with spikes. There were platforms suspended by chains hanging over said pit, and a chair similar to a throne which was clearly meant to observe the pit sat against one wall. From the room, there were three exits besides the one Yuugi had just come from, though two of those were actually close together on one wall.

Since he wasn't familiar with the dungeons, the boy began looking for text to read, and found it on the door 'frames', of a sort, around the doors. The carving in the stone walls above the doors was a bit scary, as the two doors close together said 'death' and 'permanent'. The last, however, said 'temporary', so he went to it, since Atem was supposed to be let out soon, and was only there to cool down—or whatever.

He knew he'd chosen right just by looking down the hall at the food and blankets which—apparently—hadn't been touched. Sunlight shone in from in the cells, so it obviously wasn't the kind of dark, dank prison he'd been expecting. Going to the cell where all the food and blankets were, Yuugi looked inside and saw Atem sitting with his back to the wall, apparently sleeping. There was no sign he'd touched _anything_ they'd left for him.

"Atem?" he called.

When he got no response, he reached down to pick up a pomegranate, then took aim and threw it. A moment later, the burgundy red fruit hit Atem's forehead, making him jolt and yelp in pain. His hand went to his sore head as he rubbed it, then he opened one eye to glare balefully at the person on the other side of the bars.

A moment later, his expression was replaced by one of shock and fear, even as his hand fell limply to his side and he mouthed Yuugi's name.

"Yes, Atem, it's me," Yuugi answered dryly, holding his hand through the bars. "Please come here."

For a minute, there was no reply, then Atem looked away and said sullenly, "You let the High Priest bed you."

"I wasn't exactly in my right mind at the time," Yuugi said dryly, and Atem flinched. "Anyway, it was _your_ name he called, _not mine_. It _isn't_ hopeless for you."

The silence which followed was long, so long Yuugi almost gave up. "Why did you come here?" the other teen finally asked.

"Your father misses you. He just agreed to stay out of this situation as long as you had blankets and food. You picked a bad time to get consumed by hatred, then go insane, though I sort of get why if you've been overloaded with memories...And, well, I came to say no one hates you, and they all want _you_ back. _I_ want you back, Mou Hitori no Boku," Yuugi told the Prince quietly. "Other Me...Nothing's the same without _you_."

"...Heh...you _want_ someone back who would have brutally raped you if others hadn't come?" the taller teen asked with a half-insane smirk. "Are you a masochist?"

Yuugi picked up and threw another pomegranate at Atem's head, making him jolt and yelp again, then glare at his smaller lookalike. "Don't give me excuses like that, Atem," the boy said in a quiet, steady tone. "You did that to hurt yourself, and you would have killed yourself if the full-on rape had happened. You screwed up. It isn't the first time, and it won't be the last, because humans make mistakes, and you're only human. And you _never_ make the same mistake twice, so this situation is over. The only one who has yet to forgive you—is _you_ , Atem. Let it go so you can take back your position."

Atem didn't reply, just pulled his knees up, rested his head on them, and wrapped his arms around both knees and head. Since his shoulders were shaking, Yuugi knew he'd gotten at least some of his words through, but he couldn't do any more, so sighed and left. He remembered which path was the exit, so headed back out, climbing the stairs at a run—he didn't like it in the dungeons, so pitied Atem for having to stay there.

Outside, Mahad was beside him right away, eyes scanning him for injuries—

Only for a new voice to say, "I did not expect to see the Crown Prince either at the dungeons or dressed so simply. Where did all the Princely regalia go?" Mahad and Yuugi looked towards the voice to see the Lord's son who had been sitting beside him at the table the day before.

"Ah, that would seem odd to northerners, would it not? You tend not to deal with those your law must punish," Yuugi said, going into 'Prince mode'. "In Egypt, however, it is those who hold the highest power who also punish criminals. While the burden does not yet fall to me, I must know, both the punishments I will one day give and the reasons I must give them. To meet the criminals is the surest method to understand why certain unusual punishments are given."

The young lord frowned in confusion as he asked, "Unusual punishments? What would such a thing be?"

"For example," Mahad said before Yuugi had to try to reply, "A woman stealing food to feed her children has no malice or intent to harm in her. She will be given work in the Palace, and she will never again steal, because now she has the means with which to feed her children, and only _if_ she steals again after that will she be given a punishment."

At the northern lord's cross-eyed expression, Yuugi chuckled and said, "In such a way, very, very few crimes are repeated, so we have surprisingly few criminals to punish at any given time."

"You give far too much care and consideration to those useless, worthless peasants, Crown Prince. Even _I_ only associate with them for the entertainment value. You should not take such time or—" the young lord began.

Yuugi, however, was angered by those words, and cut him off harshly with, "There would _be no_ kingdom for you to rule without those peasants, and happy peasants are much easier to control than any other kind. Giving them care and consideration means they will protect you from harm at their own expense, and will gladly do favors for you, not because you hold a title, but because they _want_ to. They will do more and work harder for you than for others, even _without_ being asked to do so. If there were no peasants, there would be no one to grow the food you eat, to make the clothing you dress yourself in, or to build your homes and furnishings. _Do not_ call them worthless or useless, because _you_ would have _nothing_ without them!" The boy then began walking as he said, "Let us go, Priest Mahad."

"As you wish, My Prince," Mahad agreed, then looked at the lord's son and said, "You should not have angered him. I suggest you refrain from angering him any further while you are here." He then caught up to Yuugi and waited for the boy to say more.

After a pause, the Prince's lookalike said, "I think I just created a problem, Mahad."

The words made the man's mouth twitch in amusement. "You said the same things Prince Atem would have, if that's any consolation."

"...How do I fix it?"

"First, go get changed. Second, go to the Great Hall early to speak with your 'Father'. Third, tell him the entire situation. He will direct you further from that point, as needed, so follow his direction."

"But Mahad, that isn't _me_ fixing it!"

"My Prince, what you just created is a political incident, and there _is_ no way to fix it alone. Also, the Pharaoh will know exactly what to do, as this—or something like it—happens _every_ time foreigners come here."

"...Atem gets into a lot of trouble on that one aspect?"

"Disturbingly often."

Mahad's thoroughly amused voice made Yuugi look up at him, then give a little grin. "To change, then."

PA-HPS-YM-SK

Soon after, in full regalia, Yuugi was sitting beside the Pharaoh in the Great Hall, speaking in near whispers to the man as he explained what he'd done. To his surprise, the older man looked amused by the time he was finished, then told him not to worry too much about it unless the young lord or the lord's father made an issue of it. And, _if_ it became an issue, the Pharaoh would reply, and would only ask Yuugi to offer an apology for speaking rudely, not for the actual words he spoke. The Pharaoh then proceeded to teach him the words for a formal apology, then both finished eating.

For the morning meetings, nothing of interest happened, and they even had lunch in peace. It was in the afternoon when the young lord's father made the situation into an issue, even rising from his seat while a discussion about an exiled noble was going on. When he rose, everyone else fell silent, even his own countrymen clearly looking shocked, as all eyes fell on the Lord.

"Speaking of criminals," Lord Orion began. "Your kingdom is much too lenient if the— _discussion—_ my son and the Crown Prince had this morning is any indication. Honestly, letting thieves go free without punishment—what _else_ do you allow here? Murder? Adultery? We knew you were—er—un-Godly, but not to such an extreme."

The Pharaoh's mouth twitched in amusement as he said, "Both you and your son clearly _chose_ to misunderstand. We do not allow criminals to go unpunished, but we _will not_ be tyrants who give the same punishment to every crime. A theft of valuable goods is punished harshly in this land, as such a thing is born of greed, nothing more. A theft of _food_ , on the other hand, is born of desperation and survival instinct, and is much better rectified by giving the thief hard work to do, paid work, so they have no _need_ to steal. We are not tyrants, and unlike you northern barbarians, we work to _fix_ problems, not to continue the situation or circumstances which _created_ them." Upon hearing those words from the Pharaoh's mouth, Yuugi went cross-eyed and asked himself _who_ was creating a political incident. The Pharaoh continued, "Murder is punishable by death, and most crimes committed out of ill intent, in this land, they are punished with a method much _worse_ than death. We are not lenient on crime."

"Is exile considered 'a punishment worse than death'?" Lord Orion mocked.

At those words, the Pharaoh stopped trying to hide his smile, even as he sat back in a completely relaxed position and said, "Exile is only granted when one of our Gods intervenes directly, which is only three times in our recorded history. However, by _our_ standards, if we could punish you by our laws, you would all be so corrupt you would receive the punishment in question. Said punishment would destroy your souls so thoroughly there would be nothing left to return to your God or Gods."

"Torture?" another lord asked sickly.

"Oh, no, not at all. We find such a pastime both singularly sickening and singularly pointless," the Pharaoh replied sweetly. "I meant it literally, My Lords. Your souls would be crushed, the evil in them taken and pulled from you, leaving what little good there may be in fragments. The evil then has a use for us—to protect our land. By the evil in your souls, you would be left too little soul to so much as lift a finger, let alone walk or talk. Your so-called 'Godliness' is naught but a lie, one we see and know all too well, and if you wish to continue this discussion, my Vizier can list all your crimes for you."

After a long silence, Lord Orion growled, "Impossible! No spy could know _every_ crime a person committed!"

The Pharaoh raised a brow and said, "We have never sent spies to your lands, nor do we _need_ to. As soon as you set foot in _our_ lands, you have set foot in our _powers_ as well. Vizier-Priest Akhenaten, if you will?"

"As you wish," the man agreed, 'eyes' on Lord Orion. "At ten, you stole your father's sword and used it to kill a stray dog and a four-year-old child for 'entertainment'. At fifteen, you raped a servant's eleven-year-old daughter, then claimed she and her mother wanted it, causing both to be stoned to death, what you decided was a 'just punishment' for 'causing you problems'. At seventeen, you hired a common drunk to kill a young nobleman who showed more proficiency than you on horseback, and when he failed, you kidnapped a guard's five-year-old son to force him to kill your rival. When your rival was dead and the guard captured, you poisoned him to death so he could say nothing about you, then raped and killed his son. At eighteen—"

"Stop! Stop that, you bastard! How dare you—" Lord Orion yelled, skin ashen and eyes wide in fear as he practically hyperventilated.

"Every word I have spoken is true, as you know well by your reaction," Akhenaten replied blandly. "Even the _worst_ of our criminals are rarely so... _accomplished_. Also, if you have issue with the Crown Prince defending the peasants we all _need_ to maintain our positions, do _say_ so, rather than starting discussions you will lose."

A long silence fell as everyone stared at Lord Orion in something like stunned horror, and the Lord's eyes went to Yuugi. "You—how can you listen to these things and not be bothered by it? Apparently someone who can see into your mind—"

"First, Uncle Akhenaten cannot _see_ into my mind, and second, a criminal deserves no better. It is also the _best_ means to know a person's intent, other than my own skill to see others' souls, to see how good or evil they are," Yuugi replied dryly. "My Father, the Pharaoh, also has such a skill, as do the Guardian-Priests. You have only been safe to date as you have not presented real intent to harm since setting foot in our lands."

Suddenly, the mind and sense of the man changed as he drew his sword and jumped at Yuugi with his sword raised. As soon as Yuugi saw the sword heading for him, his training with Set began paying off—and the sword stopped in thin air before hitting him. The other men at the table had all gotten to their feet in horror, the Pharaoh reaching for the boy helplessly but too far to help him. Even the Shadow Guards had begun to move, though they knew they would never reach the boy in time. Then, when they realized the sword wasn't falling anymore, everyone stopped again, this time in pure confusion.

After trying for a minute to move his sword in _any_ direction, Lord Orion yelled, "What in all the bloody Hells is this?"

"I am...slightly confused by that as well," Akhenaten commented in wry amusement.

"Just a trick the High Priest taught me, though I doubt he knew I would use it in such a way," the boy answered calmly, smiling. "It was meant to be used with water or other liquid substances, but it works well on other objects as well. And as the 'quick study' I tend to be, this is the result of being shown such a technique." His eyes then went to Lord Orion as he said, "You will not be able to move it until I release it, so please stop trying to kill me, Lord Orion. I perhaps spoke rudely to your son, but my words themselves were not wrong, and even rudeness is no excuse for attempted murder. I see no reason to offer an apology to one who has attempted to take my life. Do you agree, Father?"

"Yes, Atem, I agree. If anyone now owes an apology, it is _you_ , Lord Orion," the Pharaoh said to the Lord.

After a long silence, the man let go of his sword, then sat down and said nothing else. The rest of the day ended with no further incident, and as everyone was leaving, Yuugi let the sword fall to the floor. Of course, he had already left the room by then, so the Lord couldn't have attacked him then, anyway.

"Pharaoh," Yuugi began quietly as he and the two older men walked in the direction of the Pharaoh's chamber. The man gave him a nod, so the boy asked, "Why did it sound like you were _taunting_ him?"

"Because this happens _every_ time Atem—and now you—have private discussions with foreign nobles," the Pharaoh laughed outright. "Also, Akhenaten told me Lord Orion was busy plotting ways to have you in his bed, so this should have forced all those various plots to come to a halt. He could only have you by your consent, and we can all safely say you would never grant it, and it would discourage others from even entertaining the thought. Yes, that is also fairly common with Atem as well, though he never questioned the fact that I do indeed taunt them. After all, between you and my son, you offer me the perfect opportunity to do so."

The boy stopped walking for a moment in shock, even as a bit of a tremor ran through him at the thought of _any_ of the northerners in his bed. They weren't very savory people, and that was the _least_ of his concerns at the moment, so he had never even considered such a possibility before. He then quickly caught up to the two older men.

"But, I think I made him very mad at me, and your taunting made him effectively want revenge. Normally, maybe your method worked, but I have a feeling Lord Orion may try even harder to harm me—I sensed he has a very vindictive streak," Yuugi commented. "Or, if Atem can take his position back soon, it may be him who suffers, and with his frame of mind right now, he may just...let it happen."

"I noticed the possibility as well. Did you want to go warn the Crown Prince, just in case?" Akhenaten asked, but there was an odd look in his good eye, a look which made the boy's stomach turn as he stopped again to stare at the man.

Both men stopped to look at him, the Pharaoh in puzzlement and Akhenaten—

"Yes, of course. I'll just hand myself over to him by going to the dungeons alone," Yuugi commented dryly to the man, who blinked in surprise as the Pharaoh frowned.

"What are you—?" the Pharaoh asked in confusion.

"Also, it would reveal to the northerners that I am _not_ Atem, and he would know which of us to attack. And unfortunately, several of the lords right here in the Palace, Egyptian Lords, want me to either disappear or die. My Pharaoh, I've already been attacked since coming here, by hired assassins and thugs—I've never been 'safe' in this Palace," Yuugi informed the ruler shrewdly.

A long silence fell, then the man's eyes moved to Akhenaten and he asked, "Why did you not inform me of this?"

"Because he also wishes I would die or disappear," Yuugi said before the Priest could reply. "I don't think he actually intends me any harm, per se, he just doesn't want me 'here', so he'll say nothing about things which would be a danger to me, or he would give a tiny push to make me be in a particular place at a particular time. There's no evil 'intent' in that way, so even _I_ won't see him as an actual 'enemy' or a 'danger'." His gaze went to Akhenaten's as he saw the man's lips were pressed into a fine line. "But I'll go see Atem, anyway, because I already have a pretty good idea of what to expect, and I _do_ need to see how he's doing."

"If you feel it's a trap, why would you take such a risk?" the Pharaoh asked in complete shock.

"Since I came here, everyone's been doing everything for me, so this time...I'll do for myself." With that, he turned and headed away.


	9. 09-Bizarre Twist

Bizarre Twist

Honestly, it bothered Yuugi more than he showed to know it was true and he couldn't just trust Akhenaten. At the same time, he had very little time to think about it then as he debated what to do about the more immediate threat—there was _no way_ he was going to let Lord Orion go to the dungeons to find Atem.

As such, he headed for the place, even as he focussed and called, "Kuribo, I need your help again."

The brown ball of fur appeared beside him, but he kept moving, so by the time it fully materialized, it had to fly quickly to catch up to him and attach itself to his shoulder. Reaching up, he gave it a pat on the head, then steadied himself to meet the northern Lord. But really, what was he going to do? Actually, still being dressed as the Prince had its advantages, and he'd seen a small door near the weapons practice courts which he was sure led outside the walls without having to pass through the guarded gates. Or rather, the small gate was guarded by Shadow Guards, who wouldn't stop him, but may just let someone know.

His reason for leaving the Palace? To see other important sites in the city, since Atem had pointed some out to him on a city map, so he should be able to find them. _If_ the Lord would agree.

Finally, he got to the space leading to the dungeons, a large courtyard with one of the Temples—Anubis and Ma'at's—to one side and the dungeons to the other, and a blank wall across from the Palace halls. As he arrived, Orion stepped out of the Temple and turned towards the dungeons, so Yuugi walked right up to him, making the man stop and glare at him.

"You have not seen much of our city, have you, Lord Orion?" he asked cordially.

For a moment, the man's eyes widened, then became suspicious. "What concern is that of yours, Your Highness?"

"Well, if you would rather waste the evening hours, I suppose you could, but there are several sites of interest in the city, if you would like to visit them," he said, meeting the man's gaze.

For a long time, the man just glared at him suspiciously. "What purpose does this sudden offer have after the events in the meeting?"

Yuugi tipped his head to the side and said the first thing which came to mind, "My Father has an unfortunate interest in taunting foreign nobles, and for all your behavior was bad, much of what happened was _instigated_ by my Father. Consider it something of an apology for his behavior."

At the words, the man snorted, then let his eyes stray down the boy's body as he said, "If you wish to _apologize_ , offer me yourself and your bed rather than a tour of the city."

The brown ball of fur on his shoulder gave a questioning _'kurii'_ , even as Yuugi had to commend the man for being so blatant. While sexual discussion in Egypt was surprisingly open, it was rarely quite so direct unless in a private setting with a teacher and a pupil. Blinking, he said, "Even were I to agree to such a thing, you would be slain before doing more than reaching said bed. On Palace grounds, it would be impossible."

Lord Orion's eyes went to the brown ball of fur in complete confusion as he asked, " _What_ is _that_?"

"This?" the boy asked in faint amusement, pointing at Kuribo. When the man nodded, Yuugi said, "A summoned being called Kuribo. Rather than being the evil in a human's soul, he is a very real spirit entity."

"...A...summoned...?" Orion blinked. "It does not seem powerful..."

"Hmm? By himself, what he does is literally take damage in my place," the boy informed the man. "I cannot be physically harmed while he is at my side. If, however, I call for _many_ of them, they become greatly lethal and easily angered. Once angry, they cling to an attacker or other danger and explode themselves, causing severe injury, even loss of limbs. For all Kuribo is small in stature, he is quite powerful."

"Cannot be...?" Orion began, blinking rapidly several times, considering the conversation. "Are you saying you will oblige me, under conditions where we will not be stopped and where you will not be harmed?"

"Uncle Akhenaten informed me of your desire, and I have other considerations as well, but your 'desire' had turned vindictive. I am not so foolish as to leave myself unprotected, however, hence Kuribo's presence here," Yuugi explained.

"...You would have another watch while I bed you, Your Highness?" the man smirked. "You are quite an exhibitionist, are you not?"

"No," the boy answered. "I would rather no one watch, but that would leave you free to cause harm, and that is a chance I cannot risk taking. As such, Kuribo will be present, and your own actions will determine how far you manage to take the event. An attempt to harm me will end your life."

Lord Orion was stunned speechless by the words, but he didn't walk away, so it looked like Yuugi would have to go through with it now that he'd effectively offered himself to the man. Another reason for taking it off the grounds came to him—no one except Akhenaten would know what actually happened. Still the man's aura showed he was trying to find a way around the terms so he could cause harm, making the boy feel tired suddenly.

"How long can you maintain a summoned being for?" Orion finally asked.

"Infinitely," Yuugi answered simply. It _was_ true, since it depended on how much damage the spirit took, and Kuribo's ability meant it wouldn't 'take damage' unless someone tried to kill him. Any other damage would cease to exist and just wear down his own soul, but he doubted it would wear it down to nothing.

"Impossible!" the man frowned.

"Ask any of the Guardians or my Father. They will tell you the same thing, as what constitutes 'damage' to them is not the same as what constitutes 'damage' to us," the acting Prince replied. "Calling them takes a set amount of energy, but maintaining them takes none, as they, in fact, maintain _themselves_."

At the words, the man paused again, still trying to find a way around it. As the man was trying to think of something else, a new, familiar voice asked, "Is something wrong, My Prince, Lord Orion?" Looking, Yuugi and Orion saw Shada standing there, looking puzzled. He'd come from the Temple.

Taking a sudden chance, Yuugi said, "Apparently, Lord Orion prefers to cause harm to a potential partner than not, and is attempting to find ways around Kuribo's protective abilities." The Lord glared at him as Shada went momentarily cross-eyed.

A moment later, the Priest asked the Lord, "I take it you have an affinity for using 'toys' on your partner, then?"

The question actually shocked _both_ of them, making Yuugi and Orion stare at the Priest, but Shada showed nothing but resignation. Slowly, Orion nodded and said, "I was introduced to them quite early by my own father, so anything without them is rather too tame and unsatisfying for me."

"Did you know there are ones which do not cause pain?" Shada asked in reply. When the Lord frowned, the Priest held a hand up to stop him, saying, "Lord Orion, I will be very honest with you, speaking as a man with a male partner, and both of whom have been on the receiving end of nearly every 'toy', harmful and otherwise. The ones which do not cause pain create singularly unique pleasure in place of pain, without diminishing the current 'dominant' partner's power. What _both_ partners gain in those conditions is a degree of pleasure I am certain you have never experienced. If the Prince is willing to experiment, this would be the way to do so, also because _you will be dead_ if you harm our Prince. Is a night of pain with Prince Atem worth your life, or would you rather have a night of pleasure and be able to return home to have more of them?"

Shada's eyes then went to Yuugi as he carefully controlled his expression and asked, "Is it your will to experiment with the northern Lord, Your Highness? I can fairly guarantee he will be both 'dominant' and well-endowed, so if you care to keep your power, it would be best to refuse."

Both gaped at Shada for a minute as Yuugi realized the Priest was trying to protect him after what he'd already been through, but Shada's words had suddenly made him rather curious. It may turn out to be fatal, but he suspected the man wouldn't leave him alone with Lord Orion, since the Lord had no idea what to do with toys for pleasure and needed to be taught that particular aspect.

Giving the Priest a wry smile, Yuugi said, "If you were intending to discourage me, you failed dismally, and made it sound a good deal more interesting than I had thought of it before." Shada stared at him in surprise, so he asked, "I take it you would take it upon yourself to 'teach' Lord Orion how to use toys he obviously knows nothing about?"

"That would rather be a requirement. Unless you would rather I not be present?" the Priest asked as Orion stared between them in something like amazement.

"I would prefer to know someone who knows what he is doing guide the experience, as it is equally new to me," Yuugi replied dryly. "Well, then, what would you suggest, given how protective the people in the Palace are, Priest Shada?"

"Is it common for more than two people to participate in such an act?" Lord Orion suddenly spat, glaring at the two.

"Ironically, yes," Shada replied, suddenly looking amused. "Part of our role as 'priests' is to _teach_ men and women how to properly please their partners, and this would count as a lesson most of us are familiar with giving. Normally, the High Priest would 'teach' the Crown Prince how to please his wife, but no wife has yet been chosen for His Highness, and you are not a woman, so it would be better if another gave this lesson. Also, there are admittedly a good many people who would love nothing better than to bed Prince Atem, and so few opportunities to so much as entertain the thought. I would be a fool to pass up the opportunity to participate in the act."

While the Lord stared, Yuugi actually chuckled and asked, "So, where?"

"This way. Unless you would rather not, Lord Orion?" Shada asked of the Lord.

After a silence, Orion made an exasperated noise and said, "Very well."

The three headed away, leaving the Palace via the door Yuugi had noted, after they had stopped by the Prince's room to leave 'his' most obvious marks there.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

When the boy woke, sunlight was shining on his face and he was more than a little confused—and very sore. His whole body _ached_ and his muscles were pretty much slack, keeping him from moving, but the pain was from muscle exhaustion, not damage. It was as though he had been exercising hard for a long time. Then again, if what he remembered of the night was accurate—and he admittedly couldn't remember it all—he likely _had_ been exercising hard for a long time, longer than even he was actively aware, given the way he'd been handled. It had been so intense and gone on for so long he had reached a threshold and gone completely blank, 'feeling' only without any other senses, and whether he'd even been 'conscious' by then was debatable.

Finally, by the time he finished assessing that, he could at least open tired eyes—only to see...Atem's room in the Palace? As he scanned the area he could see, he realized it was indeed the Prince's room, and there were people in it, people who included Mahad, Mana, and Set. Also, it was probably past mid-day by the light he could see from the window, which made him wonder about the meetings and the state Atem was in.

At that moment, Mana, who sat beside him on the bed-cushions, looked down and saw his eyes open, so she asked, "You're awake, Your Highness? How are you feeling?"

Her words drew Mahad and Set over, both of whom seemed pale, even as Mahad knelt to run a hand gently over his forehead and pausing to check his temperature. Vaguely, Yuugi heard the others leave. "I would usually be more concerned about a fever, but...you have none, and there was no _reason_ for you to have slept to mid-afternoon. Rather...you _couldn't be woken_ , Your Highness. What happened?"

After a silence while Yuugi tried to get his mouth working, he asked quietly, "Meetings...?"

"This is a day of rest, and the noble Lords, along with the Pharaoh and Vizier, have left the Palace to visit nearby sites in the countryside. You were never required to participate today, but your absences at the morning and noon meals have been noted," the older Priest explained.

"I also heard Akhenaten call you a fool to the Pharaoh," Set added suddenly. "He seemed royally angry, and while I couldn't hear what he was actually _saying_ , the one other thing I could pick out of the mess was how you were 'entertaining' a foreign Lord's foolishness. It would be better for you to tell us what happened, rather than being so concerned about the meetings, which technically aren't actually your concern."

"How can you say the Prince shouldn't be concerned about them?" Mana glared at the two older men.

Both of their attention stayed on Yuugi, instead, but he still couldn't move properly, and actually felt more like going back to sleep. Actually, he felt more like he didn't _want_ to move, since he rather thought he'd regret it if he tried, and it would worry them more to see something other than exhaustion. What was he supposed to tell them? And for that matter, how had he gotten back to the Palace after all that? He found it hard to believe the other two had been energetic enough to return him there...

He was spared having to answer as something hard landed on the floor near the other two Priests, and Set blinked at it for a moment before reaching over to pick it up. It was a sheet of papyrus wrapped around a square, stone device Yuugi would normally have called a paperweight—which it technically had been used as when he thought about it. What surprised him was how Set turned pale as he read the papyrus, then passed it to Mahad, who also turned pale.

"What's wrong, Master, High Priest?" Mana asked in concern.

"...Why?" Set asked softly, eyes on Yuugi.

"What...?" the boy asked in mild confusion.

"Mana, please go tell Shada we need him here, and Isis as well," Mahad told his apprentice, who blinked, then nodded and left the room.

Once the door had closed behind her, Set yelled, "What in all the Heavens, Hells, and the living world _were you thinking_ , Yuugi?" His hand went to his head for a moment as he drew a deep breath and tried to calm down.

"What made you go with a northern Lord who tried to kill you, even if Shada was also there?" Mahad asked more calmly, but it was clear he was also on the verge of breaking down. "It seems obvious you were going for physical 'pleasure', though I doubt you found it very pleasurable, given your state...And you knew what would happen, so _why_ did you do it?"

By then, Yuugi realized the one who had passed on the note was probably one of the Shadow Guards who had seen the three leave for town, so he sighed and said softly, "Atem...would have...been..."

"That's no excuse for—!" Set yelled at the top of his lungs.

"High Priest!" Mahad cut in sharply, and to Yuugi's surprise, Set shut up in the middle of the sentence. After a silent pause, Mahad asked quietly, "What would have happened in these talks if Prince Atem had been found by Lord Orion?" His gaze then went back to Yuugi, and he asked, "But why did it have to be that? Wasn't there some other way to keep him from finding the Prince? After everything you've been through, for this to happen...there's really a limit to self-sacrifice, and you've crossed it. What you did was foolishness, not something which helped us, since it now gives him a very real threat to use against us, and that's besides the suffering it caused you."

At that, Yuugi's expression became wryly amused, then he murmured, "Not by...the def...inition...of the word..."

"Not by the...?" both older men frowned in confusion and worry.

A knock sounded on the door, then Mana opened it and said, "They're both here, High Priest, Master. Should I go?"

"Please go ask the Priests of Bastet to give you a lesson in Bastet's skills," Mahad told her. "I haven't got enough knowledge of her actual position and capabilities to give you proper lessons, and this discussion is best kept as limited as possible."

The teenaged girl nodded and headed out as Isis literally gave Shada a shove into the room, then stepped in behind him and shut the door. The man had no actual expression on his face, and she seemed entirely frustrated as she went to Yuugi and held her hands over his chest and forehead. By her lack of worry, Set and Mahad relaxed a little, and Yuugi noted how skilled a healer the woman was—she could even counteract exhaustion to some degree!

Finally, she sat back and asked in a rather acidic tone, "Would you care to explain where your sanity went to last night, Yuugi?"

"Curiosity took over," the boy replied dryly. "And before you get mad at Shada, he _did_ try to discourage me, but his attempt had the opposite effect."

"And did it _have_ to be with Lord Orion?" Set asked darkly. "Shada would likely have obliged you privately with his usual partner, and you wouldn't have suf—"

"Stop calling it 'suffering'," Yuugi sighed as he slowly pushed himself to a sitting position. "It was intense, but it was all pleasure, and I assume it was just that Orion has a lot more energy than normal people which exhausted me so much. For the rest of it, I'm not a fool, and by the time we left here, I had even stopped thinking about Atem."

The silence which followed was long, then Set asked, "So it's all right with a foreign Lord, but not with me or any of the other Guardians?" He suddenly seemed angry.

"No," Yuugi replied, his tone amused. " _Your_ reasons were all wrong right from the start, so _you_ sleeping with me is entirely unhealthy for your own mind. I had no idea until last night how many people in the Palace would like to bed Atem, or me in the absence of being able to have him. As for Orion and Shada, I really _was_ curious about how he explained his experiences to Orion to try to deter the Lord from effectively torturing me to death. If it had been anyone else, it would probably have been a no-go, since anything 'normal' or 'damaging' wouldn't have made me curious."

"Then Shada was there as a 'teacher'?" Mahad asked in confusion.

"Oh, yes, he did the 'teaching' part, so thoroughly he 'demonstrated' each thing to the Lord," Isis glared at Shada, who still stood there impassively. "You wanted as much as the Lord to bed the boy, and for everyone's peace of mind, you should have talked with Karim about it!"

Her words made Shada flush a bit, and Yuugi asked, "Really? Karim? I thought you two weren't fond of each other...You always seem angry or annoyed when you two would meet."

"It serves as a means of keeping their relationship private," the woman sighed. "And you should stop standing there like a statue, Priest Shada. At least have the courtesy to either apologize or defend yourself!"

After a silence, he lifted his shoulders in a small shrug, then said, "Do I actually _have_ such a right? Or, from Yuugi's perspective, such a _need_?"

As the other three were about to retort in anger, Yuugi asked, "So what _else_ happened to make everyone so touchy today?"

"What about Shada at least offering an apology?" Set asked sharply.

"Seriously?" the boy asked with wide eyes. "Have you even _heard_ a word I've said? He doesn't need to apologize for something I agreed to do, even _wanted_ to do, and by that logic, there's no reason for him to defend himself. As such, what else is wrong?"

Shada's blank state broke as he gave the boy a wry smile, then said, "I assume the Shadow Guards brought the three of us back to our rooms after we ended for the night, since the next thing I woke to was some of the military leaders and priests preparing to send a party to a village nearby which seems to have vanished."

"A...what?" Yuugi asked with a puzzled frown.

Mahad sighed and answered, "Karim went with the Captain of the Guard to see what had happened, but a couple of injured soldiers from the area made it here just as we were sitting down to our morning meal. According to them, the village suddenly exploded—it didn't even go up in smoke and flames, it literally...by their word, when the explosion and smoke faded, all that remained was a hole. They were knocked down by the blast, and are still being treated for burns and other damage, but they would be much surprised if there were other survivors."

The boy's eyes went to Isis as he asked, "Were you able to see it?"

She gave her head a shake. "It was as the soldiers described it—the explosion came suddenly, with no warning, and of such a scale everyone in the village is dead. I could see no 'cause', but it was not natural."

A knock sounded on the door, then Akhenaten pushed it open to say, "We've returned from the tour. Yuugi—or rather, Prince Atem—we need you to join a military meeting, as it seems the foreign Lords got wind of the vanishing village incident."


	10. 10-The Danger

The Danger

Not long after, Yuugi and the other Priests walked into the military tactical chamber, where the Pharaoh, several other Lords, and the military leaders all stood around a large table. Around the walls, the foreign Lords, including Orion, sat or stood, watching intently, and a man who looked like a common foot soldier was kneeling near the Pharaoh as the man held a sheet of papyrus. When the Pharaoh saw Yuugi, he held the papyrus out to him, so the boy took it and began reading what he could understand of it. It didn't take long, as it was quite short.

"This happened last night, and with no forewarning," the Pharaoh said in a quiet tone. "But it seems to be even beyond the powers of the spirits we deal with, and the only clues Priest Karim was able to find to date is what he wrote there—the blackening of the crater. This leaves us the question of what to do against something we can neither identify nor trace to its source, as Priestess Isis has already made the attempt."

"Perhaps a man would have better luck?" one of the foreigners asked in a disgusted tone, making Isis, Mahad, and Set all glare angrily.

Calmly, Yuugi cut in with, "No man is more powerful than Priestess Isis at Seeing a distant location, past, present, or future, not even the Royal Line." His gaze was calm and even. He looked up at the Pharaoh and said, "But now that I have—been told the situation, I would like permission to join Priest Karim at the site, particularly after the odd 'dream' of the Gods I had that day."

Many pairs of eyes widened in shock or surprise, even as the Pharaoh blinked in an expression more akin to amazement. Slowly, he gave a small, half-smile and said, "You may indeed see something we all would miss, particularly since that day. Very well, my son, go with your teacher to the site, and report back to me as soon as you return."

"Yes, Father," Yuugi replied with a cordial bow. He then turned to go.

"What 'dream of the Gods' is this?" another of the northern Lords asked with a deep frown, looking angry or insulted.

Turning back to the man, Yuugi replied, "Unlike in your lands, our Gods become actively involved with us. Some time before you arrived here, two of them appeared to me in a dream to grant me knowledge and understanding I would otherwise not have, as well as telling me about their concerns and the reason for the gifts they granted me. As such, this may well be part of their 'concerns', and I will only know such a thing by seeing it myself. Now, if you would please excuse me...?" That time, no one said anything as he turned to go, and he said, "Priest Mahad, we had best hurry."

"Yes, Your Highness," the man agreed, turning to leave with him. Once they were outside the room, he asked with a hiss, "What are you _doing_? You don't even know how to ride, do you, Your Highness?"

Snorting, Yuugi answered, "I'm a half-breed, part of my own people, and part of _yours_. Do you seriously think my own family in this land would never have taught me to _ride_ , regardless of the era?"

The other man gaped at him for a moment, then asked, "What do you mean?"

"My grandfather, a Japanese man, married an Egyptian woman. Even though I didn't often meet her family, there were three summers I spent with them, and they taught me to ride. They tried to teach me at least knife fighting, but I was dismal at it, so they gave up, and I wound up doing better at archery, even horse- or camel-back," the boy explained in amusement. "Er—can you find me some food, please?"

With an exasperated noise, the man leaned down to whisper in Yuugi's ear, "From the outdoor practice courts, continue past the edge of the Palace, through the gardens there, and to the stables. Prince Atem's horse, who happens to be too wild to be ridden by anyone but him, is a stallion with a roan body and a black mane and tail—his name is Shakir. _If_ you can ride him, I'll also give you a bow, but I have doubts you'll even be able to _find_ him without me." He then turned to go, even as the boy gave a little chuckle and turned to head back towards the practice courts and stables.

As he got to the courts, the man Atem always practiced with called, "Your Highness, perfect timing! I've repaired your sword for you!"

Blinking, Yuugi headed over to him and said, "Not a moment too soon. I have to go with Priest Mahad to the site where Priest Karim already is."

"Eh?" the man asked in surprise, then nodded and held a sheathed sword and belt out to him. "Then it's a good thing this was ready now. Also, it's best if you take a good bow with you, so wait here a moment."

"Of course," the boy agreed, taking the sheath in one hand. The man had turned away a moment later, heading to the small weapons hut nearby, so he turned his attention to the blade.

It was a cutlass-style sword, if more slender, but short, sharp, and curved, and Yuugi really had no clue how to use it. He still had to look like the Prince, though, so he drew the blade to examine and test it on his thumb—it was plenty sharp, and he didn't dare show pain right then, so forced an appreciative smile to his face, instead. Actually, for what it was worth, he _could_ appreciate the blade, since it was really well-made, even if he couldn't really _use_ one. As the man was leaving the hut, he returned it to its sheath and strapped it on securely, and had it belted by the time the man got back to him.

"This is one of our best bows," the man informed him, extending both a bow and quiver of arrows. "Since you haven't chosen a personal one yet, this should do you well enough, but use the arrows sparingly, and try to recover them, because it's very, very particular about its fletching."

"Ah," Yuugi blinked, taking them and examining the as yet unstrung bow and the fletching on the arrows.

It was true the fletching was unusual, with five feathers instead of three and with an edge patterned like a series of waves—each feather edge was designed differently, and only with the support of all five would an arrow fly straight. On the other hand, it would be nearly impossible to divert its course, as well, and the bow was strong and sturdy with a double-wound string. He paused to throw the quiver over his shoulder, then strung the bow quickly, feeling the strain on it as he did, then drew it back to the corner of his mouth to test the draw—and yes, the ebony wood they'd used was good wood. The arrows were also made of ebony wood, but harder than that of the bow.

As he unstrung the bow again, Yuugi smiled at the man and said, "Thank you. This will help if it happens to be needed."

"Of course. Be safe, Prince Atem," the man replied, waving him away.

Yuugi headed for the stables again, but heard a commotion as he was passing through the small garden area Mahad had mentioned, so ran forward to see what was wrong. There was a corral immediately outside the stables, and there were several horses in it, including two mares, both past their prime, a number of geldings, and—a roan stallion with black mane and tail. A foreign noble was trying to force the stallion to submit and was having no luck while the stable hands were yelling for him to stop.

As the noble was literally tossed to the ground and the stallion was about to jump forward and trample him, Yuugi tossed the bow aside and shot forward, vaulting over the corral rail and leaping to catch the rope halter around its nose and neck. Without even thinking about the chance he was taking or the danger of the horse's flying hooves, he threw all his weight downward on the rope, forcing the stallion's head down as it whinnied in alarm. A moment later, it stilled, shaking but no longer angry, so the boy slowly loosened his grip on the rope. Pushing himself up as the stallion lifted his head, Yuugi gently soothed the horse, murmuring to it about how it was all right, the foreign Lord wouldn't mount him, and the stallion's trembling stopped.

"Thank you for gaining control of that brute, Your Highness," the foreign Lord said, and took a few steps closer to them. "He needs to be broken in to a rider, and it would be best to let one of _us_ break him to obedience. Now, if you would—"

When the stallion snorted in anger and started to pull back, Yuugi yanked his head down again and turned to the noble as he said clearly, "Shakir is _my_ horse and _mine alone_. No other rider, no matter _how_ skilled, has been able to earn his acceptance or trust, and I _will not_ allow you to damage a stallion of such quality merely because he refuses to take another rider."

A moment of silence fell, then the man said, "Mount him, then. Show me you can indeed control the beast."

Facing the stallion again, Yuugi placed his hand on his nose firmly and whispered, "I know I'm not actually Atem, but Atem isn't himself right now, so please bear with me, Shakir. I won't harm you, and I won't let anyone else do so, either."

Once he'd said it, he slipped the halter off the stallion, who gave a pleased snort and shook out his mane, and a moment later, he'd unbuckled the half-buckled saddle, letting it and the saddle blanket fall to the ground. The stable hands were smirking at the Lord in amusement, and Yuugi placed all his trust in the stallion as he gave the horse's side a firm pat.

From what he knew of horses, and of the Egyptian Arabians in particular, they responded best to someone firm, but someone willing to give what they expected to get, and no horse, other than one which had never had human contact before, had ever shied away from or made a serious attempt to throw him. Placing both hands on Shakir's bare back, Yuugi vaulted up onto it and sat straight, even as the stallion gave a little hop, then settled as the boy's firm hand rested on his neck.

When he looked up at the Lord, the man's jaw was hanging open in pure shock, and the voice which cut in even made Shakir give a little start as it said in exasperation, "Next time you have to calm your stallion, don't just toss your bow aside to do so."

Yuugi looked up at Mahad with a little grin as the man approached and extended the ebony bow to him. "Thank you, Priest Mahad," the boy smiled, taking it. "I suppose I should saddle him properly now, though, since we need to go."

"Eat first," the man replied, offering a bundle tied with a napkin.

Yuugi ate while Mahad went to find his horse, then both made sure they were properly saddled, mounted, and headed out.

On the way, the older man asked, "So how is it Shakir likes you? I'm sure he can tell you aren't Prince Atem, Yuugi."

"I'm sure of that, too. I told him so," the boy answered, his voice dry. "But Mahad, have you ever noticed animals respond to what _you_ think and feel? For a horse which wouldn't be dominant, anyway, it's not such a problem for them to allow a human dominance, but a stallion...you have to be their _equal_ to earn their acceptance."

Mahad sighed, then nodded and said, "I suppose there's some truth to that. How did you get a bow and His Highness' sword?"

"The man who trains him in fighting arts gave them to me on the way to the stable, and I honestly like the bow. I don't think Atem would, though, even if he can use it well, since he's more likely to want a heavy, powerful bow instead of one which relies on balance and precision—this is a guaranteed arrow-splitter in the right hands," the boy told him.

"Too true," the older man agreed in mild amusement. "I can't help but think you know something you aren't saying."

"It's a guess, and I have to see the site to know if I'm just imagining things, but Mahad...even after the time Atem spent with me, he wouldn't recognize it if it is what I think it is. Honestly, I hope I'm just imagining it."

They fell silent for the rest of the ride to the village remains, and Yuugi rode right up to the rim of the crater, Mahad following behind in concern. When he finally got up the courage to join the boy at the edge, he noticed how the boy's eyes had gone blank and his lips were pressed into a fine line. It was no wonder, given the blackened hole, the debris fragments around them, some of clearly human origins, and the stench of burning rock, wood, flesh, and other substances.

"Mahad, Your Highness! What are you doing here?" Karim called from further around the circle as he headed in their direction with some soldiers.

Suddenly, Yuugi said, "Let's go down there, Shakir." A moment later, the horse had carried the boy on his back down into the blackened hole.

"Wait! It's clearly cursed—" Karim yelled in alarm.

"It's not a curse!" the boy yelled back as he pulled his stallion up short and jumped off his back to reach into the blackened rock. After a moment, he straightened and held up a fragment of something which shone in the light, examining it closely for a minute, then getting back on the horse's back.

As they returned to the top edge of the crater, Karim, who had reached Mahad by then, glared at him and asked, "And what would have happened if it had bitten you for trespassing?"

"Exactly 'what' do you think is going to bite me?" Yuugi asked curiously. "No, if you were thinking something supernatural did this, it wasn't any such thing." He held out the shard he'd taken from the middle of the crater, revealing a fragment which was obviously crafted metal, and even had some odd text on it under the soot. "This is a man-made weapon. I can't explain it here, but we have to return to the capital quickly."

As his eyes went to the soldiers, Karim went cross-eyed as he realized who had joined them at the crater, and who, by default, was controlling Atem's horse. After a silence, the man nodded and said, "We three will head back, and the soldiers can follow once they've been able to gather and re-form their ranks. On second thought, I'll send them to check other villages nearby, otherwise, we may miss the scope of the actual damage." He turned to one of the soldiers, one who carried a bag, and said, "Papyrus, brush, and ink." The soldier dug in the bag, then handed Karim the required items. The note was written quickly, then the Priest rolled it, put his seal on it, and handed it to the soldier. "Take that to the Captain. All of you, head back to the camp to wait for further orders from him."

With a smart, "Yes, Sir," the soldiers headed away in one direction while the messenger went off to find the Captain.

And Karim's eyes went to Yuugi sharply as he asked, "You'd better have a good explanation, Yuugi."

To his surprise, the boy nodded. "It is. This is a fragment of a missile—a weapon from my homeland. Or, since I think you've guessed, it's a weapon from the future of this world. It _should not exist_ right now, but—from a single location, many missiles can be shot to strike many locations. Depending on how many missiles and how many launchers they have, it's even possible they could shoot enough of them to destroy Egypt, and by the looks of this site, there's a good chance that's their goal. If you want a comparison, think of it like someone taking a volcanic eruption and launching it from a catapult or bow. Also, depending on what's _in_ the missiles, it can do worse damage than this, but Shakir wouldn't be all right walking around here if it was the worst kind of missile, so we're probably dealing with a standard kind—and it _still_ does this much damage. There's also no way this era has to track them, and Isis couldn't see it in her vision, so there's really only one defense—to use Mirror Force to shoot it back at its own origin point so the launchers get destroyed."

"But no one is powerful enough to use a spell like that!" Mahad gasped.

Yuugi's eyes turned to him, and the boy asked critically, "Are you sure of that after you _watched_ me use Fusion?"

Mahad froze as Karim stared at the boy and asked slowly, "You can use Fusion without the Scales?"

Looking at Bastet's priest, Yuugi said, "I can. I'm able to use anything I 'know', and I know Mirror Force, Swords of Sealing Light, Fusion, and many, many others—I can even call the God-Beasts if I need to, but Atem told me I shouldn't, since even _he's_ not technically supposed to know how yet. If Atem could get his head back on straight so we could work together, literally even the Gods themselves couldn't stand against us."

"I thought these were things we weren't supposed to know?" Mahad asked tiredly.

"They were, but I don't have time for that anymore. Let's go," Yuugi said, turning to head back towards the Palace.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

Set was still so furious with both Orion and Shada that he pretty much avoided them for the rest of the day, and was trying very hard to concentrate on his work. Rather than concentrating on it, though, his mind strayed. At first, it was to Yuugi, but for as much as he couldn't see things as simply as the boy did, his thoughts soon turned to Atem. And as soon as they did, they stayed there, making him even _more_ frustrated. For as much as there were things he _needed_ to do, none of them would get done if he couldn't focus on them, so he tried again and again to focus.

When he found himself wondering what it would feel like to kiss Atem, he gave a frustrated sigh, ran his hands through his hair, and rose to go to the dungeons. Once there, he had to wonder what he'd accomplish after his spectacular failure last time, but, well, he was already there. Heading down the hall to the Prince's cell, he found that some of the things from outside had disappeared, and when he could see into the small room, he realized the other teen had been eating and had given in and taken one of the blankets.

"Atem," he called to the young man laying on a rather messy nest of blanket. The other's crimson-amethyst eyes opened and met his, looking accusatory. "Don't give me a look like that. Seriously, we _need_ you back before the whole _lot_ of us go stir crazy. It's neither a joke nor pity—not when it looks like there's going to be a fight."

Slowly, the Prince sat up and asked, "What do you mean...there's going to be a fight? Wasn't Yuugi convincing enough to pass for me?"

"He was, maybe a little _too_ much, but...as of this morning, a village nearby was destroyed, forcing Yuugi—someone who knows he's no good at physical things—to take up your role as commander, tactician, and soldier. He's already gone to the site which was destroyed, Mahad and Karim as his only real protection so far. There's no way he can keep it up if he's put in a position where he'll have to fight with a sword or another weapon," Set informed the other teen.

Looking away, Atem apparently thought about the words, then looked back up at the man and asked, "Last night...did he really walk away with Shada and a foreigner?"

When the High Priest blinked and stared in surprise, Atem pointed up at the small, bar-covered window above his head, near the top of the wall. Heaving a sigh, Set nodded and said, "Basically, to keep you from being found by the foreigners, he went to town with a 'teacher' and a Lord called Orion to be—thoroughly bedded. He didn't even _stir_ until mid-afternoon, that's how thorough it was."

The smaller teen flinched and sighed, then gave his head a shake. "Set...it's not possible anymore..."

Blinking again in surprise, the older of the two wondered if Atem's use of his name meant he'd calmed down, then frowned and asked, "What do you mean, it's not possible anymore?"

"...I mean...whatever happens for the rest of their stay...it's in Yuugi's hands. I can't switch back with him now, or the Lord he went with _will_ know it. Besides, after what I did...I shouldn't just be in here to 'calm down'..." Atem sighed again, staring down at the floor in a depressed, dejected way.

"...Then you're welcome to hide in my personal chambers," the High Priest offered, making the Prince look up at him slowly.

"...Stay in your... _Why_?" the smaller teen glared up at him.

"Because...I'd like to be intimate with you," Set replied, simple and straightforward.

It was a taboo to say so freely in a 'public' place, so Atem was shocked by the words for that alone. But then— " _Me_ or _Yuugi_?"

" _You_ , Atem," the taller said dryly. "Yes, I'm worried about Yuugi, but he likes to totally mess _everyone_ up, and I'm finding it singularly frustrating, especially since Lord Orion just tried to kill him earlier yesterday. _You_ are a much more stable and familiar presence, and now that I've been thinking of you as really two separate people, I'm starting to see those things so much more, the things I used to take for granted. What I am, and was, attracted to wasn't your appearance, but _you_ as a person, and at the time, I thought it wasn't possible, so I...moved those feelings onto Yuugi, made him a scape-goat. I don't want to do that anymore, so it's _you_ I'd like to have in my bed. That is, if you would allow me?"

For a minute, there was no response, then the Prince's eyes widened and he asked, "You can still say that, even after the horrible things I said and did...?"

Set extended his hand through the bars, offering it to Atem as he said, "If your intent had been to 'harm Yuugi', you wouldn't have gone nearly insane from it, which really only leaves the option of you trying to _harm yourself_. After thinking about it for awhile, I actively realized how much my inability to tell you the truth hurt you, and that was on top of you struggling with memories you shouldn't have had yet. I'm sorry."

Slowly, the smaller teen rose and reached out for the hand.


	11. 11-Far Reaching

AN: There's a lemon in this chapter-marked with bolded brackets at start and end-so just skip it if you don't want to read it.

Far Reaching

When Atem and Set stepped out of the dungeons and into the courtyard, the Prince stretched and drew in a deep breath before releasing it slowly. "It's almost strange to be out in sunlight again..." he commented, looking over at Set, who had stopped a couple feet away to wait for the smaller young man to adapt to freedom again.

"Somehow, hearing you say that is frightening," the High Priest commented dryly, extending his hand in the direction of the Temples in invitation. "Shall we head to my chambers, then?"

"Yes," Atem agreed, falling in with the taller of the pair as they continued to their destination. The courtyard and the nearby halls were deserted at this time of day and with the chaos of the attacks on the villages. "I feel...disconnected, like this is all familiar and completely foreign at once. Currently, I appreciate the familiarity more, thankfully. I hadn't realized how much I took this for granted until I spent _days_ without it in the dungeons."

Set's lips twitched as they neared his door, and he said, "Then maybe that was another reason for you to have done what you did—to remind yourself just how precious all of this, and all of us, are to you."

Snorting as the High Priest opened the door to his chambers and let the smaller young man precede him into the room beyond, Atem replied, "That was a bloody _awful_ way to go about it."

Shutting the door behind them, the High Priest answered impishly, "Then consider it a lesson learned and don't repeat the mistake—and there won't be any further problems, yes? I sure have no complaints with hiding you in my private room for awhile, which wouldn't be possible without your earlier actions, anyway..."

After giving a surprised blink, the Prince had to give a small chuckle in spite of himself and replied in amusement, "Leave it to _you_ to take advantage of the situation, or to find a way to do so. I think, at this point, I'd be worried if you _didn't_."

Thoughtfully, Set replied, "Actually, so would I." He then opened the door to his sleeping chamber and invited, "Come in, Atem."

As the smaller young man stepped into the room, seeing the cushion-covered pallet, a small table beside it where a lamp sat, and a few scroll-covered shelves, Set shut the door behind him. The Prince was a little surprised to find that the main color scheme of the room was green with only highlights in purple and blue, but green was a much easier color of dye to produce than purple or blue, so there was some logic to it. A dark, wooden trunk at the foot of the pallet likely stored clothing.

Hands ran down Atem's bare arms gently from behind, drawing him back to the moment, and to Set, who stood very close behind him, so close he could feel the other's hardness against his lower back. The touch was like fire and made him tremble, but he still couldn't fully give himself to that pleasure—uncertainty of Set's honesty still plagued him, no matter how much he wished it didn't.

Apparently, those thoughts and feelings transferred somehow to Set, because he asked softly, "Since I'm the more certain of the two of us, shall I lead at first, and you may join in as you feel able?"

Drawing in a deep breath, Atem let it out with a small, "Please..." It shocked him to hear a slightly choked sound in his own voice, but both of them knew the cause—Atem didn't want to feel so uncertain, nor could he stop that feeling currently.

"It's all right. Even I would be uncertain after what happened," the High Priest told him gently, but surely. "It won't last forever, and we need to begin somewhere."

Letting out a deep breath in a sudden rush which wasn't quite a sigh, the Prince answered, "Thank you, Set."

 **(LEMON ALERT! SKIP to the next bold brackets if you don't want to read it!)**

A hum of agreement was his answer as the taller young man turned the smaller to face him, then walked him backwards to the pallet. When Atem couldn't back up anymore, he found himself falling to land on the largest of the cushions with Set on top of him as the other's hands began exploring his body. Even the Prince could tell how reverently Set's hands explored him, caressing legs, arms, hips, shoulders, along his belly and chest. Each touch was like fire, and Atem began panting from the sensations the High Priest was making him feel—for any playing and experimenting he'd done before then, with both male and female partners, it had never felt so intense.

Finally, when Set had completely disrobed him and leaned down to take one hard nipple in his mouth, Atem felt the urge to participate strongly enough to act on it, despite his misgivings. Lifting his hands, he gripped his partner's long, brown hair, weaving his fingers through it as he actively realized the High Priest had actually disrobed them both in the time he'd been exploring Atem's body. Gently dragging his fingers through the long hair produced a hum from the taller young man, and the Prince gave a small, breathy chuckle before letting his own hands wander.

While their current positions limited what the smaller teen could reach, he explored the High Priest's shoulders, back, and arms—only to find himself shocked enough to dig his nails into Set's back when a hand gripped his mostly-hard length. When a groan of pleasure sounded from the brown haired young man, it shot straight to Atem's length and he grew fully hard. Despite all the doubts, he couldn't deny the pleasure he felt, so arched into Set's hand.

"Finally," the High Priest murmured with a bit of a chuckle. "I was starting to worry about your mental state that you couldn't respond fully. I'm glad you can."

"So am I...Despite it all..." the Prince whispered in reply.

Set then shifted and leaned up to claim Atem's mouth with his own, initiating a deep, penetrating kiss, one returned by the Prince and beginning a battle of wills and dominance. The moment Atem moaned deep in his throat and gave in, Set knew he was being given the right to lead this time. If he was to be completely honest with himself, as much as he liked holding the power, he had a huge respect for the Prince for being willing and able to relinquish his own power. In the same moment, the High Priest knew he would have to reciprocate if they would have a functioning relationship—though it may not be this first night, it would come, because it would have to.

And he was willing to give his power to Atem as well, something he knew he'd have never given to Yuugi.

For the moment, however, he focussed on the kiss, and on gently sliding his fingers into Atem's body with his lubricating oil, spreading and stretching the muscles of the anus to prepare him for penetration. The Prince willingly gave him access, hands tracing Set's sides, hips, ass, and upper thighs while waiting for the preparation to be complete, the slender fingers in his body giving him pleasure he hadn't imagined with any other partner.

Finally, the fingers withdrew and Set settled himself between the Prince's thighs to place his hard, aching length at Atem's entrance. Being in no rush, wanting to enjoy the experience as much as possible while making it as pleasurable as he could for his smaller partner, Set slowly, steadily slid into him until he was fully seated, feeling Atem arch into him. He then paused to wait for the smaller young man to adjust, and when he felt the Prince slide against him, he began the steady pulsing, using the first few thrusts to find Atem's sweet spot, then the rest to target it. The Prince met him thrust for trust, as both moaned at the intensity.

In the end, it took them both by surprise when Atem came hard and suddenly, clenching around Set's length and pushing him over the edge unexpectedly. Both nearly screamed their pleasure, then collapsed, panting as they tried to regain some semblance of coherency.

 **(END OF LEMON!)**

Finally, able to get his mouth and mind working in conjunction, the High Priest asked softly, "Did I live up to your expectations, or fantasies, as the case may be?"

"More than..." the Prince murmured sleepily in reply, nearly in dreamland already. "Thank you..."

They drifted into sleep together, wrapped in each other's arms.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

It was past dark when Mahad, Karim, and Yuugi got back to the Palace, where the two Priests led the way to the Pharaoh's room. Mahad knocked, and a voice from the other side called, "Enter!" When the Priest pushed open the door, the three could see both Pharaoh Ahknemkhanen and Akhenaten there, and it looked like the Pharaoh had been pacing. Once the three were inside, the door closed behind them, the older sat and motioned them to join him at the table.

"What did you find out?" the man asked tiredly.

"I'm going to be blunt, Pharaoh," Yuugi told him quietly. "My homeland is very different from this one, as are most of the other lands around it, and the thing which caused the crater is one of their weapons. It's a man-made weapon like a catapult, but the results rival a natural disaster, and the only thing which can potentially turn it back is Mirror Force. If it's true and no one here can use that spell, it leaves me as the only one who can counter the weapon before it does any more damage. These aren't people you can send foot soldiers to attack, because frankly, even the weapons we replaced bows and arrows with are strong enough to take down any number of regular ground troops. Your only advantage is your magic. Don't send troops out to die when they can't fight this enemy."

Vizier-Priest Akhenaten frowned, but his twin said tiredly, "Weapons from your land, weapons as strong as the Gods in a fury...Is this the reason you were brought here by the Gods, then, Yuugi?"

Pausing for a minute to think, the boy said, "I don't know for sure, but this is most likely part of it, regardless of the whole reason. What I know is that you have to find and destroy the launchers to stop the missiles from coming, but we have no way to trace them, and they're too far away for Isis to see, so our best bet, and our only real chance, is Mirror Force."

"It'll kill its own caster to use it!" Akhenaten barked sharply.

"No, sir," Yuugi answered dryly. "I've _used it before_. It doesn't do anything to me at all. That's why...this is the best option, and what the troops need to do is guard the city perimeter, just in case there are also ground troops here."

"Why would your people want to attack us?" the Pharaoh asked suddenly.

"It's not 'my people'," the acting Prince informed him. "We have terrorists, people who harm others for no real reason but to harm them, and as unfortunate as it is, all you need is enough money to convince someone to give you the means to make weapons like those. This is probably being done by those 'terrorists', not by any of the rulers in my homeland and the surrounding kingdoms. The reason I say that is because...well, frankly, there's nothing you have which 'my people' would want."

As everyone in the room began to retort in anger, Yuugi held his hands up in a surrender motion and said, "I'm not saying it to be rude or imply you're weak, because you're not. What I'm saying is that your way of living is so vastly different from ours we may as well be living on different worlds, and the things which legitimately do good for you and your neighbors does nothing for us. We don't even take water from wells, or keep herds, or even farm fields by hand and hard work, and things we take as 'normal' look like magic to you, when they're just 'made' toys, tools, or weapons we always have. A kingdom in my area, be it my own or some other one, gains nothing by taking power or destroying anything here, so it has to be someone _outside_ the power structure."

"What would someone outside it want?" Karim asked in confusion.

Heaving a sigh, the boy replied, "Basically, to take over here in order to gain a launching pad their nation of origin can't touch, thereby allowing them the ability to develop and attack freely. To take over, to take slaves, and to work those 'slaves' to death for their own desire for power in another part of the world. Or, as a lot of them figure it, they want to control the _entire_ world. The likelihood I was brought here to prevent that outcome, for your sake and ours, is very, very high, because I'm one of the few people with the sheer power to be _able_ to, especially if I have Atem at my side."

After a long silence, the Pharaoh sighed and said, "Then, I will send for you as soon as there seems to be trouble." He paused for a moment, then met the boy's eyes. "Is it true you went with the same Lord who attempted to take your life earlier the same day?"

"What?" Karim asked in complete confusion.

"It was my own choice, and a means to keep Atem from being found," Yuugi answered dryly. He then looked at Akhenaten and said, "And you know very well it was no 'torture', so you should never have led people to believe that." The man blinked at him, but said nothing, so the boy returned his gaze to the startled Pharaoh and asked, "So, how early am I going to have to get up in the morning for whatever kind of meeting it's going to be?"

"What if the Crown Prince has recovered by then? He seemed calm most of the day today," Priest Akhenaten asked with a frown.

Pausing, Yuugi gazed down at the tabletop in thought for a minute, then gave his head a shake and looked up at the men. "I've been taking Atem's place for too long, now, and they're familiar with me, enough so that I can't actually _stop_. If it had been just a day or two, there's a good chance it may have worked—assuming Lord Orion hadn't _gone out of his way_ to drag me into whatever was happening. No, there _are_ differences between us, like our skin color, height, and eye color, and I think most of those Lords, being the manipulators they are, would realize we're not the same person. Frankly, even our _voices_ and _auras_ are different, enough-so that people _do_ notice it, even when they don't know _what_ just changed or why. As long as I don't have to fight with swords, I can do it, since I know how to use a bow and arrows, and I can even ride Shakir."

At the words, the two older men stared at him in shock, then Akhenaten sighed and admitted, "There is most likely truth to the fact that you would be discovered if you were to return to your previous roles now, after so long and so much activity."

"I _will not_ have my son remain in the dungeons the whole time!" the Pharaoh retorted with a scowl.

"He doesn't _have_ to," Yuugi answered dryly. "He just has to stay out of sight, like in the Guardians' chambers, since the foreigners aren't allowed there, regardless, unless they've been invited in. If it's true he's recovering, he shouldn't mind doing so, since I think he'll also see for himself that he can't take back his position yet."

Finally, after a long, heart-felt sigh, the Pharaoh agreed, "Very well. For the time being, I will pray you are amply able to fill the role of Crown Prince in the fullest sense of the word, and I will send either Priest Mahad or High Priest Set to you as needed. Go rest, as I daresay things will not be calm tomorrow."

"I will. Thank you," the boy agreed with a smile, then rose and left, heading for Atem's room in the Palace.

However, on the way, Karim asked, "What was that about you and the foreign Lord, Yuugi? What actually happened?"

"Just ask Shada," Mahad glared.

"Calm down, Mahad. Geez..." the boy sighed at the older man, who glared at him in reply. "The Pharaoh had been taunting the foreign Lords, anyway, so I originally offered to take him on a tour of the city, but rather than a tour of the city, it wound up being a much more personal, private affair. Shada acted as the 'teacher' to make sure it wouldn't become torture, but Lord Orion has more energy than he knows what to do with, so...it was a _long_ night. Well, I had no idea 'what' I was getting in to, but I was curious, so I can't blame anyone else."

After a startled pause, Karim gave a snort. "If you're still curious, go to his room late in the evening. You can be in such a position for several weeks without experiencing all it has to offer, so it's different every time. Though, one thing puzzles me."

"What's that?" Yuugi asked curiously.

"Set told us how part of your refusal of him came from a man in your homeland who greatly resembles him, and you are attracted to that man." The Priest of Bastet paused for a moment before continuing, "If so, what made you curious enough to betray him?"

"It's not that..." the boy sighed. "You know, what I said is true. I _am_ attracted to him, very much so. The problem is that he was...His birth family was good to him and his brother, but his adoptive father tortured him, and made him into a cold, heartless prick, regardless of the moments he has where his shell breaks and he shows real caring or concern. A side effect of how he was raised is that he doesn't know a damned thing about feelings, of his own or of others, so we don't have a 'relationship' I can betray. In Set's case, it's _wrong_ when it's him, because both our feelings are too easily skewered by the 'other' we know who looks like the one we care about. For anyone else, if I'm curious, for right now, I'm allowed to experiment."

"You might ruin yourself for him if you get too curious about 'toys'," Karim snorted.

That time, it was Yuugi's turn to snort. "After his Death-T, I doubt it. I told you, he was exposed to torture, anyway, and he's far from innocent. If he's not already into that sort of thing, I doubt it would take much prompting to get him to start."

After a shocked silence, the three parted ways for the rest of the night.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

When Atem woke to see an unfamiliar room and Set, he was momentarily startled, but he then gave a small, sad smile. As much as he'd enjoyed the night, he still doubted the reason behind the action, and he still doubted himself. Really, the Prince shouldn't be doubting anything, and yet...he couldn't stop himself from doing so. It felt like it was too good to be true, it really did, and he had no way of confirming what was the truth, since Set was hard to read. The intensity, even when he'd been holding back, had been startling, though, so he really wished he could let go of that doubt...

"How are you feeling?" the taller teen asked quietly.

With a startled blink, the younger of the two realized he'd been thinking too hard, so looked up and admitted, "It was good, but I'm still confused."

The High Priest gave him a wry grin and informed him, "Even if _you_ have no comparison, _I_ can safely say I enjoyed my night with you a hundred times more than the one I had with Yuugi. I'm starting to understand what he meant when he insisted 'him and me' was just _wrong_. Are you willing to find out if I'm as good as my word now that I've chosen you, Atem?"

Right then, before the Prince could reply, there was a knock on the door, and Set gave it a glare—only for the door to the outside chamber to open as Mahad called, "High Priest, Yuugi and I need a word with you."

Sighing, the brown haired teen rose and called back, "Just a minute!" He grabbed his robe off the floor and pulled it on, then leaned down to kiss Atem fiercely on the lips. "Think about how you'll answer. Unless you're brave enough to face them?"

"Er...give me a few minutes..." the smaller teen murmured.

Set nodded, then left the room—only to see Yuugi sitting at his usual place at the table, looking rather tired, as Mahad stood by him. "What seems to be the matter?"

Both looked up at him as the boy said, "I need to borrow that scroll you told me you have, the one which taps into Ra's power for a few moments."

"Can you even _read_ it yet?" the High Priest asked shrewdly.

"Enough of it," the boy replied. "Actually, I have to take it back to the Pharaoh and Akhenaten so the three of us can cast it, and I also have to set Mirror Force. They woke me after only about three candle-marks of sleep to tell me three other villages had been destroyed as well, so it can't wait."

"Mirror Force?" the High Priest blinked, then went to one of his shelves to check some of the scrolls. "Won't it kill you if it activates?"

"Nope," Yuugi replied. "Anyway, now _isn't_ the time to question that, because it's the only current means we have to stop the missiles destroying the villages."

The High Priest paused to consider that for a moment, then took a second scroll off the shelf and returned to Yuugi with both. "Read this one right now," Set told him, and Yuugi took it to read it.

After a few minutes, the boy looked up and asked, "What does this energy flow do for me?"

"It's a damage buffer, and it effectively causes every casting to automatically use the least amount of energy for the greatest amount of effect," the older teen explained. "All the members of the Royal Family have this set—if you're going to perform _any_ Gods' casting _and_ maintain Mirror Force, it would be a good idea for you to have it active before you go back."

Thinking about that hard for a minute, Yuugi suddenly blinked, then looked up in understanding. "Conservation. I've felt it before, so I should be able to copy it. Let's see..." He closed his eyes and concentrated, activating the flows he knew he needed from his time being bound to Atem. Once he finished, he looked up at Set's wryly amused expression questioningly, asking with his gaze if he had it right.

"I'm impressed," the taller teen said wryly. "You're missing the grounding sub-flow through the middle of the cycle, but otherwise, it looks like you set the rest properly."

"The grounding...?" the boy murmured absently, then blinked, nodded, and closed his eyes again as he pulled the second flow down alongside the one he already had.

"Good," the High Priest told him as he opened his eyes.


	12. 12-Energy Intensity

AN: There's another lemon in this chapter-marked again-but it's the last one in this story. Just skip it if you don't want to read it.

Energy Intensity

Right then, the door to Set's bedroom opened partway, drawing all eyes—and Yuugi immediately knew who it was, causing him to give a glad cry and run to Atem to hug him tightly. Looking a little amused, the taller of them hugged his smaller lookalike in return, then looked up at Mahad—and was surprised to see relief there.

"I thought you'd be...more angry, Mahad..." the Prince commented quietly.

"Oh, don't think I'm not, Your Highness," Mahad replied in amusement. "But I have plenty of time to make you regret your behavior once the foreigners are gone and you no longer have need to hide. For now, it is good to know you are yourself once again."

"Um—Atem, let me tap your energy to set Mirror Force around the city and Palace," Yuugi suddenly cut in, looking up at him.

With a blink, the taller teen nodded, then asked, "Why are you in a rush suddenly?"

"Just a feeling," the smaller shrugged. "The sooner it's set, the better, especially now that we know four villages have been completely destroyed."

"In the _real_ terms of your people being from the future, Yuugi...how much of what you told the Pharaoh is absolute truth, not edited?" Mahad asked suddenly, making the others stare at him in shock.

"Most of it," Yuugi told him softly, then gave his head a shake. "But think about it for a minute, Mahad...If they take over in this era, they'll _have_ _total control_ in the future, and _my_ future will never exist, because your nation won't progress the way it's _supposed_ to."

"...Point taken," Mahad admitted tiredly.

The boy's eyes closed for a minute as he concentrated on something, then Atem gave a little shudder—and a moment later, a wave of magic burst from the smaller boy and spread around them, extending to cover a wider and wider range. When it stopped, the two Guardians and the Prince all stared at Yuugi in shock as his eyes opened and he gave a little grin.

"There, Mirror Force is set," he informed them.

"Not even words or a ritual..." Set muttered, reaching out to grasp Atem's arm. "Is that something _you_ can do?"

Shaking his head, the Prince replied, "Not in all my memories, past, present, or future. I'm a lot stronger than you realize, but as I said—Yuugi can defeat _me_."

"Stop it," the boy in question sighed. "Let's go back to the Pharaoh for the casting. Mahad, you still have to explain it to me fully so I know what I have to do."

"Right...Let's go, then, My Prince," the man told him, lips twitching as Yuugi gave a heart-felt sigh and Atem's lips also twitched.

"Oh, _now_ I'm hurt," the Prince complained, eyes dancing.

"And why would that be, Your Highness?" Mahad replied teasingly.

"Because I'm not your only 'Prince' anymore," Atem grinned.

"Never fear, Your Highness—I consider Yuugi in somewhat the same capacity as I would your younger brother had your parents had another child," the Priest answered. "You are still my _first_ Prince, and nothing will break our bond."

"Good!" Yuugi announced cheerfully, making the others blink at him in surprise. "And we have to go, Mahad."

"Of course," the older man said, winking at Atem before following Yuugi from the room.

"Well, _that_ was fun," Set commented.

Facing him, Atem asked quietly, "How much did Yuugi tell you about who he is and the future?"

Slowly, the older teen walked over to one of his windows and leaned on the ledge, asking quietly, "Are you going to be angry with him if I tell you?"

"...I don't actually have that right, because it was my actions which led to him saying as much as he did, yes?" His sad eyes gazed at the taller teen's back.

After a pause, the High Priest sighed and turned back to face him, leaning back against the ledge as he crossed his arms. It was clear he was a bit nervous, but he said, "Some of what we figured out is from small hints you and him gave. There's very little he said straight out...In fact, other than if he told Shada, Mahad, Akhenaten, or the Pharaoh something privately, the only thing he said to me is that I'm actually blood-related to you, but my father sent my mother and me away so we wouldn't be harmed if someone wanted revenge on him. And to convince me he wasn't just 'protecting you' after what you did to him, he said very simply that he's from the future, so certain things _can't_ change now."

Atem's crimson-amethyst gaze moved to look past Set, out the window. "He wanted you to know we weren't so far apart in rank..." he said softly, then met Set's eyes sadly. "I'm so sorry for the horrible things I said to you that day, Set..."

Silence fell for a minute, then the High Priest straightened and walked over to the Prince, reaching up to wrap his arms around him tightly. "I know. I knew as soon as you fairly went insane from treating Yuugi the way you did. Still, I forgive you, and thank you for your apology. It means a lot to me that you can still be so considerate."

With a small, wry chuckle, the smaller man returned the hug and said, "Thank you, Set. I think I understand and believe you now."

For some time, they stood like that, just enjoying each other's company, before moving to the bedroom to continue the night's activities. This time, Atem faced Set as soon as they stepped inside, wanting to explore the High Priest's body the way the nineteen-year-old young man had explored his during the night. His hands ran over the strong arms as Set's hands gripped his hips and let him touch, watching his eyes intently with deep blue eyes filled with feeling—with lust of course, but also with a deeper feeling the Prince now realized was love.

 **(LEMON ALERT! SKIP to the next bold brackets if you don't want to read it!)**

While he didn't know everything about sex, and certainly not everything about sex between men—Set definitely trumped him in that thanks to the priests' lessons on the topic—he knew some things men liked or which he wanted to try. Now, as though a cap had been removed, he wasn't nearly so timid and wanted to experiment with some of those things, which he'd never had cause to do to another before. As such, with passion, his exploration led to him disrobing the High Priest while Set still stood in front of his bedroom door.

Once he'd finished exploring, very much enjoying the feel of the other young man's body under his hands, he sunk to his knees in front of the brown haired young man and took his hard length in his mouth to lick and suck on it. Glancing up at Set's expression while he worked caused him to chuckle—the High Priest's mouth was hanging open in shock as he gazed down at him, but the blue eyes were full of heat despite the shock. Clearly, it wasn't every day a prince gave one of his 'lessers' such attention.

Somehow, knowing what he could do to Set's emotional control caused Atem to feel a surge of pride and power he hadn't realized he could feel while kneeling in front of another man. He enjoyed seeing expressions on Set's face he'd never seen before, would never see otherwise, and which were caused solely by him and his actions. Encouraged by the High Priest's response when the taller young man moaned and fell back against the door, the Prince continued his ministrations until he felt Set release into his mouth. It startled him some, so he only managed to swallow some of it, and the rest dripped down his chin to his chest.

"You really have a cocky side...don't you, Your Highness?" the High Priest teased him breathlessly in amusement, gazing with intense love and lust at the completely debauched look Atem now hand—in his mind the Prince had never looked better than he did now, wearing his release. Reaching down, Set gently took the Prince's face in both hands and tilted it up, then leaned down to kiss him deeply, tasting his own release in Atem's mouth.

"It's you. Of course I am," Atem replied impishly when the High Priest broke the kiss. With a snort, Set shoved him backwards, and Atem yelped as he fell to the floor on his back, more than a little thankful for the smooth stone of the floors.

Before the Prince quite realized it, Set had his own length in his mouth, and was giving it similar—but much more skilled—ministrations, even as Atem couldn't help but writhe and moan helplessly in pleasure. Yes, the first time had been intense, but it was no comparison to this, where he could feel not only lust, and desire, but an intense desire to please one's partner. Set was portraying that feeling of desiring Atem's pleasure, rather than his own, and he could somehow _feel_ it, as though their souls were bonded and sharing one another's emotions. Had Set felt that intensity, that same desire to please his partner, from him when he'd been the one doing the pleasuring?

More than anything, he hoped so, hoped they were both on the same page on that, because it felt somehow sacred to feel such a true, pure feeling.

The Prince's thoughts were distracted as he suddenly came to a release, and he realized he'd given himself over freely to his body's sensations, panting, moaning, and nearly screaming out his pleasure. Set also had more experience, so swallowed all of his release, then moved up to kiss him deeply again, both of them tasting both of their releases with the kiss.

"Amazing...When you give your all, this is like...Godly pleasure...I'd thought it was good when you held back, but...Nothing will ever compare to this," Set whispered to him, reaching down to strip him of his robes.

"Considering I have much less idea of what I'm doing than you do...That means a lot," Atem chuckled a bit, voice breathy as he tried to calm his panting back to normal breathing.

"You've missed something, then, My Prince, because 'sex' and 'pleasing your partner' was always about putting their pleasure before your own and giving your all to that cause, it was never in _technique_ ," the High Priest informed him gently, suddenly pushing himself up, reaching down to pick Atem up in both arms, then carried him to the pallet and laid him on the largest cushion. "What do you think happens when _both_ partners seek the other's pleasure before their own?"

Pausing, Atem blinked, then his eyes widened in understanding as he met Set's gaze and gave a nod. "Then what are you teaching to people?" he asked softly, curious now about that.

"Most people don't have a partner they love as well as lusting after, and most men—and yes, our experience is that the fault is nearly always the man's—seek their own pleasure rather than their partner's pleasure. We teach them to enjoy the other's pleasure, to find new ways of reaching pleasurable highs for both partners, and sometimes just how to 'have sex', such as if the partners are the same gender or grew up overly sheltered. You weren't any of those, but I daresay you barely remember the technique behind preparing a male partner, even as it is, so those things need to be taught—imagine how much harm a man could do to another man without preparation."

"I see...Um...can we not talk about that anymore? It's ruining the mood..."

Set laughed at that, then kissed Atem deeply, hands running over his chest and playing with his nipples as he did. The pleasure grabbed them both up so much faster that time, and Atem returned the favor of the attention to the nipples while they kissed, and gradually, while seeking pleasure, they began grinding against each other. Being on top, the High Priest was able to apply more pressure, and Atem let out a growling groan—and rolled them over so Set was below him.

Fiercely, he kissed the taller teen, feeling somehow like he was sealing an exchange by taking control this time. He knew how good it felt to be penetrated, at least by Set, and he wanted the taller young man to feel that same pleasure, or more. Their tongues battled for dominance for a time, but Atem wasn't backing down, not this time, and the High Priest evidently realized that and let him take control. It reminded him eerily of his own acceptance of Set's control the first time, and the exchange he was sealing suddenly made sense. It was a pledge, to each other, exchanging their power and giving their all to the other, strength, love, support, pleasure.

By the High Priest's acceptance, it was both their wills, and Atem wouldn't have it any other way.

The intensity grew, every touch all-consuming as the Prince reached down to Set's anus to prepare him, glad the oil had been left out from the night before. He knew how, but the taller young man was right in saying it had been awhile, so he would take his time and make sure he did it right—the _last_ thing he wanted was to hurt his partner. So, his oiled fingers slipped inside the other's body one at a time, as he felt the muscles loosening until finally the other young man was prepared.

It had been so long that Atem barely remembered the sensation of being inside a man's body, but as he slid into Set's, he was _sure_ it hadn't felt like he'd died and gone to the Afterlife. It was like silk, pure pleasure—and didn't he have a spot to find in Set's body? Yes, the same one the High Priest had found in his, he remembered. As the body under his arched, he began pulsing, shifting each time for the first few to find that one most intense spot. On the fifth thrust, Set arched and nearly screamed with pleasure, letting him know he'd found it—had his reaction to finding it been like that? If so, it wasn't a wonder men were encouraged to find it, as it was a singularly intense and erotic image for a sexual partner to see.

Finally, after pounding into that spot until neither could take the pleasure any longer, the release came. Last time, Atem hadn't heard any specific name being called, but this time, he heard the High Priest shout, "Atem!" at nearly the top of his lungs as he came. The combination of hearing his name and the muscles tightening around him caused the Prince to climax as well, even as he groaned, "Set..."

While the Prince collapsed onto the High Priest and they lay there panting for a few minutes, Set shifted and slipped his fingers into Atem's opening to loosen it. "As good as that was, we're not finished yet," the High Priest whispered impishly in Atem's ear.

Groaning a bit and rousing himself a bit the Prince looked up at Set and asked, "You have enough energy for another round?"

"I'm a lot more used to this than you are, so yes," the High Priest replied smugly. "You'll get used to it, too, after awhile. In the meantime, I want to try you in a new position, one a little more compatible with your own exhaustion." Set was entirely amused and more than a little excited at the prospect, so Atem gave a small smile and a nod, giving his permission to play a bit.

Sitting up, Set grabbed and piled up a few of his cushions, then eased the Prince up and into a position where he lay on his belly on the stack of cushions, knees on the pallet and hands braced on another cushion which was still laying around randomly. Atem felt oddly vulnerable in this position as the High Priest's hand caressed his ass, but then he felt a surge of pleasure and joy as the other young man whispered, "Beautiful. Mine..."

The feeling in the words nearly brought him to a release, and Atem spread his legs wider on some sort of instinct he had never known he could have in this position. Set's fingers slipped into him for a few moments just to make sure the earlier preparation while they'd still been recovering from the last round was enough. Apparently, the High Priest felt it was, so knelt behind and between the Prince's thighs, placing his length at the smaller young man's opening.

When he slid in this time, it felt so very different from the first, and he arched back at the sensation, driving Set deeper into his body—quite willingly at that, as his moan of pleasure proved. The High Priest's chuckle made Atem retort absently, "Next time, I'll take you this way, and see if you still laugh."

"No, that's not why I'm laughing," Set denied, then leaned down to whisper in Atem's ear, "Your sensitivity amazes me, and makes you so much more pleasurable of a partner. What I can do to you, please you with such small things...That's why I'm chuckling. You're truly a gem, My Prince."

Before Atem could reply, Set began thrusting into him hard and fast, rather than with a gradually building tempo like the previous time. On the first thrust, he struck the Prince's prostate, and Atem shouted, "Set!" with that first thrust. Afterwards, he was reduced to loud moans and groans as he quickly lost coherency at the intensity, his only grounding force the High Priest's hands gripping his hips. If not for that, he felt like he could just...fly away. If that was what sex with a person you loved felt like, he'd never want anything else, and was glad he'd taken the chance on Set at last.

Finally, there was a last impact and both climaxed at the same moment, shouting each other's names before collapsing in a heap and the cushions under Atem collapsed sideways.

 **(END OF LEMON!)**

"Stupid cushions..." muttered Atem as he and Set readily wound themselves around each other.

Chuckling, Set answered, "But that means the release was especially good. So, was it?"

"Yes, it was. They're still stupid cushions."

"As you wish. Know I have neither doubts nor regrets, none at all. I love you."

After a pause where Set feared Atem had fallen asleep, the Prince answered with such a heart-felt, "I love you as well," that the High Priest knew everything would be all right between them. No matter how long it took Atem to truly believe he'd chosen him.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

After the casting the Pharaoh, Priest Akhenaten, and Yuugi did, they all pretty much collapsed into the nearest seats, the Pharaoh in one corner where a kind of chaise and many cushions had been piled, his brother in another near the door, and the acting Prince against the back wall, on what was basically a pile of pillows. They were tired, exhausted from expending so much energy, and Yuugi was grateful he could lay down while the older men were pretty much forced to sit.

"Yuugi," the Pharaoh began after a minute, then paused. Finally, he went on with his question, "Did you just provide fully half the energy for the casting?"

"Um...I don't know. I just know I put in what I could spare," the boy replied, not stirring. His eyes were closed, and he had _no_ intention of opening them.

"What about setting up Mirror Force?" Akhenaten retorted sharply.

"Done—did it before getting back for the casting. I used energy I felt I could spare, taking into account what I need to support and activate Mirror Force," Yuugi informed them in a flat voice.

Silence fell for a moment, then Ahknemkhanen asked, "The wave of energy we felt expanding while we waited for you...Was it Mirror Force?"

"Probably. Set and Atem were shocked by the energy I put out for it, too. Only, either Atem or I can activate it if needed, since I keyed his energy into the Mirror Force spell when I put it up. I told him I was 'borrowing' his energy for it, and I'm sure he thinks he's helping to support it, but I didn't do that. After all, the Gods know they can return me to my homeland legally dead and there's a good chance they can revive me, but you don't have that luxury, and I can't risk your true Prince that way. I'll take the full brunt of it, and if I die, the rest is in the Gods' hands, but I'm pretty sure I'll be fine."

"I hope your words are true, Yuugi," the older man said quietly. "I may not wish to lose my son...however...I also do not wish for harm to come to _you_. You have done so much for us, and all you have gotten in return is danger and work which should never have been yours to bear. Forgive me."

"Even if you say that, it's in my nature to want to help those in need, Pharaoh," the boy replied in faint amusement. "I put myself in danger for others, for my friends, for people I care about, for those who can't protect themselves. I'd have done it anyway, just because I live here right now."

"...I would still rather see no harm come to you," the Pharaoh replied dryly. "In this time since you have been taking my son's place, I have come to see you much as a second son. Forgive me for having ignored you upon your arrival here."

"It was something I expected, and Atem actually said it was good you were ignoring me, since it meant you weren't actually opposed to having a complete stranger here," Yuugi explained as he shifted a bit to a more comfortable position.

"That is true," Akhenaten commented. "Ahknemkhanen, you could never have been expected to have immediately forged a bond with the boy, and he also needed time to adapt to this land before you could have placed burdens or responsibility upon him." It was the first time Yuugi had heard the Priest address the Pharaoh so informally, and it made him curious.

"Priest Akhenaten, why are you always so formal with your own brother?" he asked curiously into the silence following the Priest's statement.

Silence fell for a moment, then the Vizier-Priest answered, "As children, we were kept apart so we were never able to develop a familiarity."

"How sad..." the boy sighed, making the men chuckle in understanding. It still amazed them both how Yuugi could care so much about others, but they also would never change it for anything.


	13. 13-Enemy Revealed

Enemy Revealed

The three men had fallen asleep in the room where they'd done the casting, only for Yuugi to suddenly jolt awake, throw himself to his feet, and bolt from the room. Something drew him, drew him to a place he'd never been to before—the Palace's curtain wall. He ran up the stairs to see people, foreigners and locals alike, gathered on the wall, watching something in the distance. Far away, something was roaring, something which sounded like a huge fire, but in the desert, a fire large enough for that would be hard to come by. Normally.

Pushing his way through the crowd, he found himself at the outer edge of the wall, a hand tightly gripping his upper arm as he leaned on the edge and stared at the damage just beyond the city wall. A glance showed him the Captain of the Guard holding his arm and looking more than a little unsettled at the flames. Mirror Force when inactive would merely deflect the damage, not send it back at the attacker, and that was what had alerted and woken him—a missile striking the barrier and hitting the ground just beyond it. Now, there was a section, a distorted hole of blackened, burning debris where there had once been desert and part of an irrigated field.

Looking up as he heard a faint whistling sound, he caught a flash of metal in the sky and whispered with all the force he could muster, "Mirror Force, activate!"

A clear, glass-like dome took shape around the city and Palace, and the missile blasted against it, exploded, then hurled silvery missiles back at a ridge of hills not too far away, in several places along the ridge. However, even as massive explosions tore the top of the ridge apart, there were still locations on the ridge where he could see the tell-tale glint of silver. There had been inactive launchers there as well!

"Damn! It missed some!" he growled, then shook off the Captain's hand and launched himself off the top of the wall, yelling as he did, "Curse of Dragon, come to me!" The golden, almost skeletal dragon appeared below him, and he landed on its back, then called, "Take me over to the ridge, my friend!"

With a shrieking roar, the dragon flew in the direction of the ridge as Yuugi silently set the 'trap' for Negate Attack around the city and Palace, just to be safe. As he got close to the ridge and could see the launchers, he could see they were being loaded and aimed.

"All right, my friend, I'm going to give you more power, and I need you to destroy those silvery things down there!" he called, and Curse of Dragon gave a nod-like motion, so he whispered, "Activate, Burning Land, Fairy Meteor Crush, and United We Stand!" Power surged around the skeletal dragon as it shot flames out of its mouth to strike the launchers, completely and utterly destroying them and the people operating them, flying along the ridge to find them all.

As they were getting to what looked like the last location where there was a launcher, a flash of metal in the sky from a ridge off to one side made Yuugi whisper, "Negate Attack, activate!" The silver suddenly fell out of the sky and hit the ground just past the ridge, well away from the people and roadways, so Yuugi let the dragon destroy the last launcher in front of them, then asked, "Have you still got enough strength to search the next ridge over, my friend? I know there's one more launcher for sure there."

The dragon gave another shrieking roar and flew as fast as it could in the direction of the indicated ridge, where they came upon what looked like a whole _base_ in the hollow just behind the edge of the ridge. There were all kinds of war machines, troops by the thousands, and many typical military buildings, but there was no indication of them being from any legitimate military, and the soldiers didn't even wear a uniform other than a band around one arm. It was enough to know this was a huge threat, and he couldn't leave it.

"Get started on destroying this whole thing. I'll call for more help," Yuugi told the skeletal dragon he rode on, and it gave a nod, then began firing flames at the base.

He then considered who else would be particularly useful to call—and decided dragons and a few demons were the best way to go. "Hyozanryuu, Seiyaryuu, Red Eyes Black Dragon, Summoned Skull, come to me!" The four appeared by Curse of Dragon's sides, then he called over to them, "Red Eyes, Summoned Skull, Fusion! Emerge, Black Skull Dragon! Destroy the base, before they attack Egypt again!" As the dragon and skeletal demon merged and became the upright, skull-like dragon, they all joined the attack.

After a short pause as a wave of dizziness hit the boy, he again considered who or what else he could call for help to destroy the terrorist military base. To his surprise, though, Curse of Dragon looked back at him in what he swore was concern, then flew upwards, somehow 'tossing' the powers which had been attached to it onto the dragons below. Black Skull Dragon obviously got the United We Stand ability, as its already powerful attacks got even stronger—massively stronger, not marginally stronger.

"What are you doing?" Yuugi asked the dragon he rode curiously, fighting off another wave of dizziness—and heard a worried trill from said dragon in response. "You're worried about me?" he asked with a little smile, and Curse of Dragon gave a little nod. "Don't be. Worry once the city and Palace are safe. Can I count on you to get me safely back to Priestess Isis at the Palace?" After a pause, the dragon gave another nod. "Good, thank you."

Finally, he also knew what else he could do, so called, "Upheaval!"

Below him, the land began shaking, tossing, and splitting apart, even as lava surged up from below the surface and water came up around it to create a steaming flood, swamping across the shaking and broken base. The dragons took to the air to shoot their magical powers and flame-like breath at the remains of the base, and Black Skull Dragon pulled free of his energy to begin digging down into the largest building on the base. It seemed he'd found something there worth digging to reach, so ignored the destruction around him in favor of his digging, even when the steaming water began flooding the hole he was making.

The other two dragons were apparently satisfied with the destruction of the rest of the base, so joined Black Skull in digging the hole—

Which was the last thing Yuugi saw before he fainted.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

Back at the Palace, moments after Yuugi headed for the ridge, leaving the Egyptian soldiers cheering and the foreigners staring in stunned shock, Set, Mahad, and Shada reached the top of the wall. "What happened?" the High Priest asked the Captain of the Guard sharply, making him face the younger man with a grin.

"Oh, High Priest! The Prince just headed up to the ridge along there, where the invisible attack came from! You should have seen him! It was amazing!" the man burst out, clearly thinking it was good news.

"He went? Alone?" Set asked sharply.

"Yes. Why shouldn't he? Obviously, he was still full of energy," the Captain replied.

Set looked back at Mahad and Shada, asking, "None of us has a summoned being large enough to carry two, correct?"

"Yes," Mahad replied quietly. "We can only wait and hope his summon brings him back. Which did he call for?" The last part was directed at the Captain.

"Curse of Dragon, Priest Mahad," the guard replied promptly, and stared when the Priest's eyes slid shut like he was in pain.

Set and Shada also turned pale as the older one commented worriedly, "He certainly likes to play dangerously. The fiends and fiend-dragons aren't the most reliable sort."

"But...all we can do is wait," Set answered, turning to face the blazing ridge in the distance. "Call for Isis! She's our most skilled Healer, and I have a feeling we'll need her when the Prince returns."

"I'll search for her!" Mahad immediately offered, turning and leaving.

"Set!" Shada suddenly gasped, making the High Priest turn—and stare up at the swirl of energy visible in the sky as something silvery fell to the ground near the ridge further away. In the distance he could just make out a small, dark shape flying for the further ridge, the one the silvery thing had apparently come from.

"That..." the younger Priest began, then drew in a slightly shaky breath. A moment later, he apparently gathered his wits, as he called, "Kaiser Seahorse!" The creature appeared beside him, waiting quietly. "Shada, keep watch here and fill the Priestess in when she arrives. I'll find out what the _thing_ was which fell from the sky. If I can, I'll keep an eye out for the Prince as well—he's using far too much energy with at least one summon, Mirror Force, and Negate Attack. If he's using others as well, after Anubis' casting..."

"He'll have nothing to spare," Shada finished softly, turning very cold and pale.

Mounting the Seahorse, Set said to it, "Let's head over towards the western ridge, and look for a spot where something fell from the sky on the way." They were off a moment later, heading for the further ridge as smoke began rising from multiple places along it. He gave an involuntary flinch, but they had reached a strange object laying in the sand about a mile from the ridge. Without dismounting, the High Priest just stared at the thing, and even Kaiser Seahorse's head was tipped to the side as though it had no idea what to make of it.

It was metal, easily as tall as him, shaped somewhat like an arrow, but much too fat, and seemed to have been _made_. He understood nothing about it, other than that it was a kind of weapon, and apparently, one alone could make a village vanish in a blackened crater. Normally, he had all the answers, but now, he had none. He only knew how it could have been missed—from a distance, it was bloody hard to see, and only if you knew what to look for and roughly where.

A frightened almost-whinny from the Seahorse made him look forward as a rumbling sound began and grew louder. The ground below them was shaking, and a look up the ridge ahead showed it fairly tearing itself apart, making his eyes widen. "Could he really have found something so dangerous it would warrant using Upheaval?" he gasped, then nudged his mount with his heel slightly, getting it to look back at him in worry. "Let's fly up there, Kaiser Seahorse."

It didn't take them long to reach the top, even as the sounds of destruction grew closer and louder. As they crested the ridge, both stopped in shock—the remains of a huge number of bodies and of buildings were still there, but most had been reduced to rubble, and no one was alive. He could see two dragons he knew, a white and a pink one, and a third, dragon-like creature he had no clue what to call, all of them digging into the ground in the remains of what looked like some kind of building, ignoring the steaming water flowing around them and into their hole. Looking up, however, he was just in time to see Yuugi faint as Curse of Dragon hovered above the chaos below.

He figured Curse of Dragon would just let the boy fall, but it _didn't_ ; rather, it gave a worried cry and shuffled itself around as it tried to keep the boy on its back. A moment later, Set understood what made Yuugi so powerful, so said, "Let's help the skeletal dragon keep Yuugi on its back." Kaiser Seahorse flew up beside the other dragon with a call to alert it, and Set reached out to grip the cloth of Yuugi's back to push him back into place and hold him there.

"Let's head back to the Palace, Curse of Dragon, Kaiser Seahorse," the High Priest called to the two, who both made agreeing noises and turned to head in that direction. They were able to maintain their positions well, and the dragon seemed to _know_ , to understand, what Set was doing there, how he was helping.

They _were_ intelligent—he hadn't been imagining it.

By the time they were back at the Palace, Priestess Isis, the Pharaoh, Priest Akhenaten, and Priest Karim had joined Shada, and they had gathered in the courtyard below the wall to wait for them. Curse of Dragon landed in front of the gathered group, and Set immediately jumped down to the ground so he could reach out and pull Yuugi down from its back. Isis was right beside him, placing her hands on his head and chest, then sending some of her energy into him.

After a few minutes, she drew her hands back and said tersely, "He will take long to wake. Barely any of his energy and soul remained—His Highness was casting and maintaining far more than just Mirror Force, and that alone would have killed a lesser man to use once. Until then, it is impossible to wake him."

"How long do you estimate his recovery to take, Priestess?" the Pharaoh asked tiredly, looking defeated—he knew how dire the situation was and what Yuugi had risked to protect people who were not his own.

"A week. Perhaps more," she answered quietly, turning to look at the man. "However, even once he wakes, he will not be 'recovered' for likely approaching a full moon cycle afterwards. His exhaustion will show, and he will be incapable of either physical or magical exertion during that time."

"But he will live?" Ahknemkhanen pressed.

"Yes, barring unforeseen circumstances," she agreed. "Which we should no longer have, as the meetings with the foreign delegates have now officially ended, regardless of their continued presence here for the remainder of the week. I would hope, at least...However, with this enemy, unless it has been eradicated..."

"And you see no further destruction of that kind in the near future?" Akhenaten asked, good eye showing a feeling of relief.

"I would not know had I seen it—I do not know what the weapon resembles," Isis responded with a sigh.

"Have you had any visions of a village being destroyed and a 'clear sky' above them?" Set asked suddenly. She turned to him and nodded. "The weapon shows only as a flash as though sun upon metal—it is nothing more. You may well have 'seen' it, but if you were not aware of the tiniest flash in the sky, it would have seemed there was no warning."

The woman closed her eyes to consider his words, then her eyes shot open as she nodded. "You would be correct, High Priest," she replied. "There have been such flashes, too small to notice without _looking_ for them. I know of the villages yet in danger."

"On another note...What are we to do with Curse of Dragon now that His Highness is unconscious and apparently yet maintaining it?" Karim asked suddenly.

"He is not," Set replied, shaking his head. "All the creatures he summoned are maintaining themselves here, obeying what may have been their last orders before his collapse—the other dragons were still destroying the...area...atop the ridge when he collapsed. They apparently saw fit to dig deeply into the remains of what may have been a building before His Highness had it destroyed."

"...An underground shelter, like a cellar, but deeper?" Shada offered quietly.

"Perhaps," the High Priest agreed. "However, we will not know all of what took place until the Prince awakens, and he is no longer maintaining any powers here, besides the casting he came to me to retrieve the scroll for."

Isis closed her eyes, calling up the images of Yuugi's battle atop the ridge, then opened them with a blink and faced Curse of Dragon. "I am Priestess Isis. You have brought him to me safely, so you have done your duty admirably. Please leave him in my care—he will be all right," she told the creature. It paused, then gave a nod and let itself dissipate.

"That was all it needed?" Karim asked in surprise.

She faced him a little wryly and agreed, "Apparently. I also found how many castings the Prince was using, without even considering the consequences. Shall we take His Highness to his chambers to rest and hold our discussion there?"

"Indeed," the Pharaoh agreed. "Priest Karim, you may carry my son. High Priest, please go ahead to see if Mahad is ready for us in the Prince's chambers."

"Yes, My Pharaoh," Set agreed, bowing a bit, then handing Yuugi to Karim and heading away.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

Soon after, they had congregated in Prince Atem's room while Yuugi rested on the collection of bed-cushions. They sat near the younger boy, with Isis and Mahad nearest him on the cushions, and the others with separate cushions to sit on in a circle around them. Opposite Isis and Mahad was the Pharaoh, and the Vizier and Karim were to one side of the circle while Set and Shada were to the other.

"Well, then, Priestess Isis, what are you able to tell us?" the Pharaoh asked her in a soft tone, gaze surprisingly intense.

"This child is far more powerful than we ever imagined," she began, then paused and looked at Karim. "Do you know of a creature composed of Summoned Skull and Red Eyes Black Dragon?"

His eyes widened and he breathed, "He was able to summon Black Skull Dragon?"

"He summoned both independently, but combined them soon after," she answered in a soft tone. "He used some I had never heard of before and the effect was singularly impressive, however...I will begin at the beginning, give the list in order. Mirror Force, Curse of Dragon, Burning Land, Fairy Meteor Crush, United We Stand, Negate Attack, Hyozanryuu, Seiyaryuu, Red Eyes Black Dragon, Summoned Skull, Fusion, Black Skull Dragon, and Upheaval. All of that, all active, and all while maintaining the casting of Ra."

Everyone could only stare at her as they carefully sorted the list. Finally, Shada asked, "And he is yet _alive_?"

"Alive, and will recover," she agreed. "However, this is also a danger, particularly should Atem not be even a fraction so capable."

A soft voice said dryly, "I can use most of those, too, all at once." Everyone turned to the door to see Atem standing there, looking faintly amused.

"Fusion? Or Mirror Force? And what is 'United We Stand'?" Mahad asked sharply.

"Well, I know how Fusion functions and the various results, but I still need a focus to cast it," Atem replied with a shrug. "By what I can do myself, yes, I can use Mirror Force without dying, but I'm not sure of my range. Yes, I can summon and maintain five summoned beings, or more, depending on the circumstances, and give them added strength—far greater in number than the ones Yuugi gave them. Yes, I can use Negate Attack, and yes, I can use Upheaval with no ill effect. United We Stand is an ability which increases a chosen ally's or summon's strength incrementally for every ally in range—obviously, the more allies are nearby, the more the strength will increase. And yes, since Mana kindly informed me you were concerned about the loyalty of fiends and fiend-dragons—I trust Curse of Dragon and Summoned Skull, and any Fusion including them, with my life, Yuugi's, and all of yours." He stepped fully into the room, shut the door, and walked over to where his younger lookalike lay.

"Atem..." Set began worriedly.

"Mana paralyzed everyone for me," Atem answered the unspoken question, then sat beside Yuugi as he shooed Isis and Mahad away. "Now, let me give him some energy." The two Priests stood and watched as their Prince took the younger boy's hand and closed his eyes—and several of the Guardian-Priests' eyes widened as their jaws hung open from shock at the sheer volume of energy Atem was transferring to Yuugi.

After about five minutes, Yuugi stirred and murmured tiredly, his eyes opening as the flow of energy stopped. Tiredly, Atem met his other half's gaze and smiled. "Feeling better, Yuugi?"

With a little smile, Yuugi replied, "Yes, a lot. Should you be walking around openly?"

"Mana paralyzed everyone for me," he chuckled in reply.

"Oh," the smaller replied, slowly sitting up.

"So, what prompted you to drain yourself dry?" the Prince asked his lookalike dryly.

"The whole top of the ridge was covered in missile launchers, and on the furthest ridge was a whole _base_ of a bunch of people wearing no real uniform other than an arm band. When I used Upheaval to destroy the base, Black Skull started digging down into the remains of the building, and the other two dragons also started to dig with him when they were sure the rest of the base was taken care of," Yuugi answered with a sigh, leaning his head on Atem's shoulder. "This isn't over—whoever's come here isn't likely to have been at the base, not if he or she has been so thorough in planning that they were able to build a whole base so close to here without anyone knowing."

"Hmm..." Atem murmured, gazing absently at the wall past Yuugi as he rested a hand on one of the smaller's arms to keep him upright. "What did the arm band look like? That may hold a clue."

"...Red...Blood red with...I think it might have been a scythe and a..." The boy drifted off, fell silent for a moment, then looked up at the older of the pair with worry evident in his gaze. "It was a snake, but it was torn apart, and the ourboros sliced in half, with the scythe hovering over them."

At the Prince's wide-eyed expression, the Pharaoh asked, "What does that mean, the ourboros and the snake, with the scythe?"

"The ourboros is a symbol of learning, of a skill called alchemy, which is an advanced form of healing and creation. The snake—where did we learn healing and peace from, if it wasn't the Uraeus serpent we honor so greatly? The scythe represents death," Atem asked quietly. "These people mean to destroy, to kill, creation and healing...and peace."


	14. 14-Steps Forward

AN: I created a card to use in this chapter, so I own my own created card! Otherwise, everything else should be the same ol', same ol'.

Steps Forward

Four days passed quietly after that incident as Isis sent troops to several towns and villages to remove the people from them before the destruction came. Finally, it came time for the foreigners to leave, and Lord Orion specifically asked for Prince Atem to see them off. While the Pharaoh tried to explain that the Prince was exhausted after protecting the city, Yuugi slowly walked in being supported by Mahad, both of whom knew Orion would want to see the boy again. They looked amused by the argument as they approached the Pharaoh and the Lord, but when they were five feet away, Orion caught sight of them—and just stared silently in shock.

While Yuugi had recovered faster due to Atem's energy, he was still pale and shaky, far too weak to do much of anything, and it showed. The silence of Orion's shock made the Pharaoh turn to face them—and ask, "What are you doing out of bed, Atem? You are far from recovered."

"We knew this would happen," the acting Prince replied a bit dryly, leaning on Mahad, who just tightened his grip on the boy.

Stepping forward, the Lord asked, "How did you get into such a state when you seemed to still have so much energy that day, to have used so many skills?"

"I had used half of my energy already on city defenses, and set a defensive spell known to cause death in most casters when activated. I was able to use less than half of my usual degree of power, but in my need, I foolishly used nearly all of that remaining energy before I even realized I had," Yuugi replied with a wan half-smile.

The man was silent for a moment, then said, "I now understand what you meant by your power and the powers of your people. Never had I imagined the truth of your warnings, but now...I believe I literally owe you my life, on more than one occasion. Thank you, Prince Atem. Fare well, and I wish you a speedy recovery."

"Thank you, Lord Orion. Travel safely, you and your companions," the boy agreed with a small smile.

With a nod, the man gave a regal bow, then rejoined the other northern Lords. Soon after, the foreigners had left, so Yuugi heaved a sigh of relief, then turned his head and called, "Okay, they're gone, Atem."

Ahknemkhanen turned to stare as his son by birth crossed the courtyard to Mahad and Yuugi, then crouched and motioned for Yuugi to get on his back. The smaller of the two hesitated, then climbed on the Prince's back to be carried, even as virtually everyone remaining in the courtyard turned to stare at the pair. As though Atem did so every day, he rose with the smaller boy on his back and carried him away, the two talking softly as they went.

Going to where Priest Mahad still stood, the Pharaoh asked, "Do you know why my son is behaving so...plebeian, Priest Mahad?"

To his surprise, the man gave a highly undignified snort and asked, "Have you never before taken the time to observe him when away from the Court and social functions? I have seen him do the same with Mana and some of the children of the Palace servants. This is part of who he is. Perhaps you should consider being a larger part of his life, My Pharaoh, as this is typically the sort of thing _any_ parent should know of their child." The Priest then walked away, leaving the Pharaoh by himself.

"...My son..." Ahknemkhanen sighed softly. "I begin to understand where my own weakness has come from, and where your strength will be found."

PA-HPS-YM-SK

Atem carried Yuugi to Set's room, asking on the way, "Do you have any ideas about what we can do to stop them?"

"Let me think about it for awhile. Now that Isis knows what to look for, she's gotten good at saving the townspeople, right? We have a bit of time," Yuugi answered softly.

"What worries me most is..." the Prince paused for a minute before sighing and continuing in a tense voice. "What they want, by the implications of their symbol, is much more directed and vile than DOMA wanted back then...Er, will want in your future. But even then, how did they get here and how many of them are there? Chances are, if we miss even one, we're—well, screwed."

"I know, Other Me," the smaller boy whispered sadly. "We need to find the means they got here by and destroy it. The Gods and Priestess Isis can't see it, so..."

"We're on our own," Atem agreed.

As they got to the door to Set's room, he opened it and motioned them inside and towards a large cushion he'd placed on the floor of his main room. Atem and Yuugi both blinked, then traded looks before the older of the two carried his smaller lookalike to the cushion and laid him down. He then moved over to the table and sat quietly while Set sorted some scrolls and took two back to the table to read them.

For awhile, they were quiet, then Yuugi called, "Hey, Atem, can you make a list of everything you know about them?"

Set looked up in confusion, and Atem asked in reply, "In Japanese or Egyptian?"

"Egyptian. Just don't use anything too complicated, since I'm not that good at your noble text yet," the boy replied.

As though he'd lived in Set's quarters his whole life, he went over to the shelves where Set kept brushes, ink, and blank papyrus, took what he needed, and returned to the table, then began making a list.

"So, there's the three parts of the symbol—I'll get you to draw it for me later—and their meanings, the colors, the missiles, the base, the dragons digging, the towns destroyed, and their attack on the capital. There's also Isis' successful saves once she knew what to look for," the Prince said, running his finger down the list. "What else?"

"Their numbers for one—the ones who died up on the cliffs totaled probably around three thousand all together," Yuugi said, so Atem added that. "Their leader is a tactician, but I don't think he's a duelist or a summoner, since he hasn't shown any signs of that, not even in a defensive nature—unless that's a ploy to make us think he's got no such power. Either way, he or she obviously has access to top-end technology and weaponry, and isn't afraid to use them. That begs the question of just how extensive their technology might be..."

"Their technology could include nukes, is that it?" the older of the two asked as he added the notes to the sheet with a worried frown.

"Or biological warfare," Yuugi answered quietly.

Atem straightened and spun to face the younger boy with a horrified expression as he asked, "You're not saying what I think you're saying, are you?"

"Well, you would have studied about some of the biological warfare used in the past, so all it takes is some infected _blankets_ to pass on something deadly," Yuugi answered. "And because the systems of the people here wouldn't be used to it, they would be weak against it and wouldn't have any idea how to cure it. Even _I_ could be killed by some of the diseases we know. I'm worried they'll use that tactic now, after..."

"Hold on, are you saying they can actually cause us to suffer from an unknown plague?" Set asked in concern, cutting them off.

"Yes, Set," Atem answered, turning back to the brown haired teen.

Rising, the High Priest said, "Well, there's one quick solution to that. I'm going to speak with Shada and we'll have a chat with Ra and Anubis. Stay here until I return." He was gone a moment later.

Atem stared after him for a moment, then gave a small smile and said quietly, "And I ever wondered why I fell in love with him? Other than myself, he's the only one strong enough to do these things..."

Yuugi chuckled at that and answered impishly, "Then it's a good thing the favor I asked the Pharaoh for was for you, not myself."

"You what?" the Prince asked in surprise, facing Yuugi where the boy lay.

"The Pharaoh said he owed me a favor for agreeing to help them by pretending to be you for awhile," the younger of the pair shrugged.

"And the favor?"

"That would be cheating."

When the taller of the two saw the serene, amused smile on Yuugi's face, he just sighed and turned back to the list. "Fine. Any ideas on the way they got here?"

"A portal."

"But that's magical."

"No, there's science-made ones, too—just ask Kaiba-kun. He never delved too much into that aspect, but had a theory about how it could work. If he had a theory, even an untested one, someone else could have _tested_ one. It could have been a ship, or an object which would transport you elsewhere when holding it...A gateway, even."

"...Point taken. Another concern I have is the number of people. This is no small organization, this is something else..."

"Hmm...Yeah...someone wealthy and with lots of people to sacrifice..." Yuugi was silent for several minutes, thinking, as Atem tapped the wooden brush end on the tabletop. The younger finally said, "I never thought much about it before because I just thought it was some kind of made-up story, a group like that couldn't really exist, but thinking back on DOMA, maybe this one could be, too...No one specifically named it, but it was thought to be composed of the thirteen most powerful and wealthy families in the world, those who had been 'Initiated' to their ways. They wanted to control the world, and have admittedly done a good job, but they can never fully control people who have free will, and people don't take kindly to being obviously enslaved, or so they've found, so I just wonder if..."

"You mean you think that group may be real, and in their bid to enslave the world of the future, they've come back in time to take control of it now," Atem sighed tiredly. "It would make sense, I admit. That would also be why we needed _you_ , and why we needed to unite our powers..."

For a long time, Yuugi was silent, staring up at the ceiling. As the door opened and Set and Shada stepped inside, he asked, "Atem, what exactly is 'power'?"

"What?" Atem asked in shocked confusion, staring at the smaller teen.

Sitting up carefully, Yuugi met his eyes and said, "The necklace you were given which made you completely lose control of yourself...you did some very cruel things to your summons in that duel, and in the end, despite your _power_ , you still lost. You're powerful, but...what makes me capable of beating you when I don't have that 'power'?" Set and Shada traded looks as they gazed between the two, and Yuugi went on quietly, "To beat Zorc, to truly defeat him, what 'power' did you use? Because it wasn't what you usually use in battle. So, what _is_ 'power'?"

Looking back down at the papyrus in front of him, the Prince slowly set the brush in the inkwell, then braced his elbows on the table, linked his fingers, and leaned his chin on them. "...True power is love, Yuugi. True power comes from the ability to freely love and care about others, even those who have hurt you. It isn't battle which grants power, but the ability to end the battle. When you defeated me, it was with your most pure love, the ability you had to carry all of my darkness and still remain so pure, so loving, so...kind. My first instinct is to fight. Yours is to protect. My first instinct is a lack of trust...Yours is to give trust. And even Uncle Akhenaten, who hated you when you first came here, has warmed up to you in a way I never expected, simply because you gave him your trust, but never actually fell for his games or tricks. So, for whatever power we have in battle...It will never change anything. It's your power, your love and kindness, which will change things in the end."

Yuugi closed his eyes for a minute, then opened them again and said, "But those people who are probably behind this, they _thrive_ on killing or turning people like me to darkness. Without you...could I really withstand that darkness, that depth of torment?"

Atem turned to face him again and said simply, "You already have."

The younger boy gaped at him, then asked, "When?"

Looking away, the older answered softly, "I'm not a fool, Yuugi. I know what you suffer whenever your father comes home. Then, what I did to you...The struggle you had with Jonouchi and Honda before they finally realized you were a worthy friend...The trials Shadi and Pegasus and others put you through...Did you think I was carrying that whole burden? Death-T, DOMA, Merik's fall, Bakura, the darkness I absorbed from Atlantis' citizens—those were also your burdens, sometimes more yours than mine. You've come out of all of those pure and untouched, Yuugi. _They_ can't touch you if nothing else you've gone through has."

"...How did you find out about that? About my father, I mean," the smaller of the two asked softly, biting his lip.

Shaking his head, the Prince answered, "Your mother wept over it once while you were sleeping. I overheard her. You did an amazing job keeping it from me, I admit, but that might also be because...It never had any effect on you. Did it? It hurt your mother and grandparents more than it hurt you."

That time, Yuugi looked away. "I wouldn't say it didn't hurt, but...I guess it never felt all that important to me. All those things you call burdens...They hurt in the moment, but it doesn't make sense to keep holding on to them after they're over and done with." His gaze moved up to Seto and Shada. "They're not burdens to me because I let them go. They don't define who I am— _I_ define who I am. For a bunch of people giving their souls tangible forms, it's awfully strange to me that you can't separate who you are in your soul and the experiences you've had while living in this world. You were strongest, Atem, when you stopped letting your past dictate your actions and let your pure soul dictate them, when you cast aside the bonds and ties of this physical world. Wouldn't that mean 'true power' is in letting go of the past, the future, the physical world, and letting our souls guide us?"

"How many people do you suppose are able to do such a thing?" Shada asked curiously, and Atem snorted.

"If you ask Yuugi, everyone," the Prince answered, sounding amused.

"The conditions for doing it aren't easily met, though," Yuugi answered softly. "I don't know why I'm like this. All I know is that, when you cast everything else aside to let the soul out, what's left is good will—love and kindness. A soul which has cast everything but itself aside only wants to help others, to heal the hurts of the world and of the living beings on it. There's nothing in me which _wants_ to harm others, but...If I really need to...I can. I have. And no one can predict what I'll do. That's exactly why Akhenaten can't read me—there's not actually _thoughts_ for him to read in me, only _understanding_ , and that can't be 'read', because it 'just is'."

"And why is this discussion so important?" Set asked as he sat at his table across from Atem.

"If Yuugi's right about our enemies, we'll have to start relying on those moments of pure clarity, that zone we often reach on the battlefield, to defeat them," Atem informed the two Priests. "That's our true power."

"Well, nothing tainted with illness or disease is currently able to enter the city," Shada told them. "It will burn upon reaching the border. That is, even ones carried in the air—will burn and become harmless, destroyed by Ra's and Anubis' flames. It had never occurred to them something of the sort may happen, and they informed us we had cut it close, as one tainted item had nearly entered the city. There is little else they can do for us."

"We still have our work cut out for us," Atem agreed. "We knew that. But if Yuugi's right, stopping them isn't a question...it's an absolute requirement if we expect to have a world left by the time Yuugi would be born. The Gods can't help us _find_ them, so we have to do it ourselves."

"We need more pairs of eyes, probably ones in the sky, and no way to achieve that," Set sighed, resting his head in his hand.

"There actually may be a way," Yuugi suddenly smiled. "But I can't cast it now, because I'm too weak."

"What's that?" Set asked curiously.

"After...Um, in the future, there's a time when Atem and I part ways, and a few weeks had passed for me between that parting and when I was dropped here. A new set of cards came out," Yuugi said, looking at Atem.

"And there was a new power or monster in the set which you think would help now?" the Prince asked his smaller lookalike.

"Well, considering one of the spells was called 'A Flock of Bennu' and its function was to let you see any set cards your opponent had, yeah, they count as spies, and are likely our best bet to find this enemy," Yuugi agreed. "I tried counting the number of birds on the card, and couldn't, so I asked Kaiba-kun to show me the projection of it, and there were around two hundred birds in it. Are Bennus really a type of crane?"

"They're Egypt's equivalent to the European phoenix, a symbol of reincarnation and rebirth, and yes, they are a type of crane," Atem explained, then looked at Set. "Given the number of them, and the fact that I'm still feeding Yuugi energy, I think you're the best one to summon and maintain them, High Priest of Ra."

"Also _because_ I'm the 'High Priest of Ra'," Set snorted in amusement. He saw Yuugi's puzzled look and clarified, "The Bennu is Ra's bird." When the boy nodded, his gaze went back to Atem and he asked, "So, how will this...card...power...function?"

"The same as any other summon or spell you cast," Atem replied dryly.

After considering that for a few minutes, the High Priest nodded and said, "Since so many will appear, I'll leave the Palace and city tonight to summon them and send them out under cover of darkness. It might be prudent to have a couple Shadow Guards ready and able to follow Yuugi, though, so we always know where he is and that he's protected."

"Hey, come on..." the smaller teen pouted.

"Considering your propensity for getting into trouble when there's trouble to be had, and your current condition, that would actually be logical, yes?" Shada asked in amusement.

"No thanks to you," Set snorted.

"Enough," Yuugi sighed. "I want to go back to Atem's room and rest now, since there's nothing else we can do right away."

"Shada, could you take him back there, please? I'm staying here for now," Atem immediately asked of the Priest of Anubis.

"Very well," Shada agreed as he rose and moved over to pick the smaller boy up. He saw Yuugi indicate to Set to talk to Atem about that, and Set gave a tiny nod, so he left with the boy so the High Priest and Prince could talk.

When the door shut, Atem got up and went to stand at the window, looking out over the city and the desert beyond it. Set faced him and said, "While I don't mind you being here, it worries me that you haven't gone back to your own room since the day of the attack. Why are you staying?"

For a long time, Atem didn't answer, and Set thought he wasn't going to get one. As he rose to go back to his own work, Atem said, "I feel...like I'll lose control again at any moment, and...I can't risk hurting him again..."

"Then, Atem, _talk_ to me. What's going to make you lose control? What do you need to resolve to prevent that outcome?" the taller of the two asked gently, going to Atem and resting his hands on the smaller's shoulders.

"...I know my own death...I know every betrayal...But the Goddess Isis informed me I can't react to that knowledge, I can't change any of it...I have to pretend I don't know, around people my future self has reason to mistrust...to destroy. How can I just...?"

As the Prince's shoulders shook, Set sighed and said, "That's a heavy burden, but pushing it down or trying to ignore it won't work—that's a large part of how you came to lash out at Yuugi as well, isn't it? Have you ever actually tried organizing those memories, then deciding they don't mean anything right in this moment?"

"How is the reason I lashed out at...?"

"Had it ever entered your mind, in all your memories, that you couldn't trust him?"

"...No..."

"Then why did you stop? Simply, because every other betrayal was dropped on you at once, and you lost the ability to distinguish friend from foe, betrayer from non-betrayer. Sorting it could help restore your trust and equilibrium with him. After all, he's your light, and you shouldn't be afraid of spending time with him when you clearly care so much about him."

Suddenly, overwhelmed by the emotions Set was stirring with his words, Atem spun and hugged him tightly, openly weeping in front of someone for the first time since he was about six years old. Set just held him, swaying gently and letting him take the time and comfort the Prince so desperately needed. One thing was sure, the High Priest would never envy Atem his position and the lack of emotional support it required.


	15. 15-Healing

Healing

Four days after the Flock of Bennu had been sent out to spy, Atem was still living in Set's chambers, leaving everyone both worried and puzzled. He had at least begun attending his usual lessons, gradually over those four days, but only on the fourth day did he actually attend every lesson he should have that day. As he was putting away his gear from his weapons practice that day, a familiar voice interrupted him.

"Hiding won't make it go away, Your Highness," his weapons trainer, Taopo, informed him from the door to the weapons shed.

Turning to face the man, the Prince answered, "I can't really do anything else because I can't change anything..."

"No one said you have to change things around you," the man told him. "What you have to change is how _you_ see the things around you. The Gods put restrictions on you, so you have no control over that. No, it's not fair, but you can't change it, so instead of hiding from it or fighting it, just accept it. That alone will go a long way towards settling yourself down again."

"You have no idea what you're asking me to accept!" Atem yelled at him, crossing his arms defensively over his chest.

"How quickly did little Yuugi recover from what you did to him, to the point where he treats you just like normal?" Taopo asked sharply, standing straight and stalking towards the Prince with a dangerously prowling stance. Suddenly, Atem felt afraid of this man he'd always taken as no different from the rest of the guard force. "If I could have had my way, you'd have suffered what you did to him, because normally, that would have _devastated_ a person, possibly beyond repair."

As the larger man advanced, Atem backed into the wall in fear, realizing he was trapped, knowing he could get free with his magic, but feeling the crushing weight of his actions and all desire to fight left him. The man continued harshly, "If you'd done it to my daughter or sons, you'd have gotten it back tenfold, but Yuugi has no one to defend him that way. That travesty went virtually unpunished..."

Then Taopo stopped and stood over the Prince like a looming shadow. "But you're the Prince, so _naturally_ , you aren't punished the same way another man who had committed the same crimes would have been. I see a crime I've seen _my sister_ suffer from go unpunished, and there's _nothing I can do_ about it. How do you think I feel, Your Highness? This is a betrayal to me, and I have no choice but to accept it. Will it help me to stay angry with you? Should I bother wasting my time and energy on someone not worthy of it?"

He stepped closer to the smaller, younger man so he was pressing the Prince against the wall with his body, and hearing a whimper, leaned down to whisper in his ear, "You should have been punished, but were spared. Do you think you deserve the right to _hide_ from your own crimes?"

"Then punish me!" Atem burst out suddenly, tears running down his cheeks. "I know I should have been punished, so punish me!"

"And then what would you do? Forget about what you did wrong, and repeat it later?" Taopo asked softly with a smirk, still pressed against the smaller body.

"What? I could never—" the Prince gasped, wide-eyed.

"Why not?" the weapons master retorted with a hard voice. "Punishment absolves you of guilt. Your own guilt is far greater a punishment, isn't it?"

At the words, Atem began sobbing, falling to his knees, still trapped between the man and the wall. He didn't realize his position, just knew this was a repeated trend—he did something to harm Yuugi and never actually received direct punishment for it, but what he got instead was a loss of his other half and crippling guilt. Collective guilt he'd never dealt with.

"Why am I fated to hurt him over and over again?" the Prince asked helplessly through his tears.

"...Over and over again?" Taopo asked with a frown, taking a step back from the Prince and kneeling on one knee in front of him.

"What the Gods gave me...my future memories...I can count every time I'll harm him in some way, and I've never been punished...not for any of those times...Yuugi..." Atem wept, eyes wide and blank.

Suddenly, the weapons master sighed and said, "So now we come to the crux of the matter." When the Prince met his eyes without comprehension, he went on, "Everyone makes mistakes. You make far fewer of them than normal people, but My Prince, you've never learned to learn from the mistake and let it go. You keep carrying a burden of guilt which you don't need to carry—even Yuugi has absolved you of that guilt, so why do you keep holding it? Because you feel you _need_ punishment...or because that guilt is the only punishment you'll ever get?"

Chills ran down Atem's spine at the words, then his eyes slid shut. "What are you doing? What's your purpose? Are you trying to push me to end my own life, because that's how I feel right now..."

Something touched the back of the Prince's hand, making him open his eyes and look down—to see his weapons master holding the hilt of a sword out to him. "Then end your life if you feel that's what you need to do."

Atem lifted his hand to the hilt, intending to do just that—then yanked his hand back like he'd been burned as his fingers touched the leather binding on the hilt. He blinked, and blinked, and blinked a third time as his eyes cleared, then he looked up at the older man questioningly.

"Back with me now?" Taopo asked the younger man calmly.

The Prince slowly looked down at his hands, then back up at the man, and said, "I don't think I've been fully 'with' anyone since the Gods gave me those memories, except maybe Set...I feel like I've come home after a long time away..."

"Good, that's one step in a positive direction," the weapons master answered, setting the sword back on the rack. His gaze went back to Atem as he sat on the floor of the shed in front of him. "How do you feel?"

"...I don't know...Confused, but somehow calmer and lighter...?" the younger man answered slowly, clearly puzzled by his own current state. "What _was_ that all about?"

"You were getting lost in your own mind. Every time you do that is when you hurt people without really meaning to, or so seems to be the trend, so I wanted to shock you out of it—no one else's methods were working," Taopo replied.

"...Then, were the things you said all lies?" Atem frowned in even more confusion.

"No," the man answered with a raised brow. "Everything I said was true, but I said it deliberately in a way I didn't necessarily mean it, because you so obviously needed to be figuratively punched in the gut. There are two points you need to take away from this. One is that you still value your own life, so you need to keep _living_ it, and the other is that no one but you can absolve you of your own guilt, by choosing to let it go."

Atem stared as the man rose and headed for the door, but he called before the weapons master stepped out of the shed, "But what you said about me being punished for what I did to Yuugi—"

Turning back to him, Taopo cut him off with, "And you have been. Unfortunately, _you_ are the only one who can't seem to see just how much punishment you've gotten for what you did. When will you feel you've had enough punishment? If I was to do to you what you did to Yuugi, I daresay you'd never get out of that rut and just keep punishing yourself more and more. That won't help anyone. Forgive yourself, Prince Atem, because everyone else has already forgiven you."

He was gone before Atem could answer, leaving the Prince in turmoil but with a much clearer mind and sense of self than he'd had since getting those memories of his own future.

Slowly, Atem rose and wandered from the shed, blinking in the sunlight like he was seeing it for the first time in his life. Compared to when he'd left the dungeons after several days there, this was on a completely different level, and he wasn't just seeing something as superficial as 'light', or as 'dirt', or as 'sand', or as 'stone'. He was seeing a stunning array of energy, life, and essence which he'd either never noticed before or always taken for granted and stopped noticing. When he saw a frond tree which nearly glowed green with its own life energy, he realized he wasn't actively thinking—just truly appreciating and understanding the preciousness of life, of the things he saw around him every day.

Before he realized what he'd done, he was at his own room, leaning on the jamb as he watched Yuugi sorting out several sheets of paper—notes of some sort?

"Come in, Atem," Yuugi called to him after a minute, not looking at him. The younger's voice sounded amused. "It's _your_ room, after all."

Pushing off the jamb and walking slowly into the room, the Prince asked, "When you look at the stone walls, or the potted plants, or the sunlight, what do they look like to you?"

Yuugi looked up at him in mild confusion, asking, "What do you mean?"

"I had always...They looked flat, dull..." Atem began, trying to explain what he meant but not really having any idea how.

"How could something with a color as vivid as a plant ever look 'dull'?" the younger teen asked in confusion. "I've never seen anything flat or dull, because everything's always been bright and vivid and full of color and life to me. Other people, I don't know about, but...Seeing the trees and animals so bright and full of life always gave me peace after my father would...Well, you know..."

After a pause, the Prince went to his cushion bed and dropped onto it, staring up at the ceiling—in an exact copy of something Yuugi had always done quite happily and readily. Now, there was something to see there. "...Have you already forgiven me for hurting you so much, so many times?"

"There was never anything for me to forgive you for," the smaller teen replied simply.

"Not even when I nearly killed Kaiba, or nearly raped you?"

"Keyword: 'nearly'. You didn't, so it's moot. One time, you were trying desperately to protect me, and the other, you weren't clinically sane. Of course, to me, even clinically sane people are insane, to varying degrees, so I just don't pay much attention to minor insanity. What you had wasn't minor, so you're not at fault."

"Clinically insane? Anyone else would usually have called it a fit of rage."

"Anyone else wouldn't have had thousands of years' worth of their own memories dumped on them before they even happened and had to deal with the accompanying emotions at the same time. You'd been behaving oddly right from the first moment I arrived, so the signs were already there—Set and I just happened to trigger them."

"...Do I have the right to forgive myself for such...?"

"No, you have a _responsibility_ to forgive yourself so you can live again and truly be able to make amends for those errors. If you don't forgive yourself, you're preventing yourself from changing fully and properly, coming closer to your true self. Let it go, Atem. Mou Hitori no Boku."

Closing his eyes, the Prince thought about the words, the resonance he felt from the younger teen calling him 'Other Me' again. His soul, and a responsibility to heal...? In a way, it made a lot of sense, especially by Yuugi's pure view of the world. This was the first time his light's logic actually made sense to him. Discard the past, the future, and everything but the inner, true soul...

Live in the current moment.

His punishment hadn't been to be put in the dungeons, or to be kept out of the meetings with the foreigners, or any of those things...It had been to lose his own sense of self so thoroughly he had truly contemplated suicide.

Opening his eyes again, he looked at Yuugi and said, "I think I'm starting to understand your strength. If Taopo hadn't pushed me, backed me into a corner and forced me to face my own guilt, I might even have validated suicide, and that thought in the back of my mind wouldn't have come to light until too late."

With a sad sigh, Yuugi told him, "As much as that would really have been a waste of a good life, Atem, no one would ever actually have the right to stop you if you truly felt that was the path you had to take. What you do with your life is your own choice, no one else's, and you're not actually responsible for anyone but yourself."

"Says the goody-two-shoes."

"Not because anyone's put that responsibility on me. Where I live in the moment is my home, too. If I don't protect my own home, what will become of it? But my way of protecting it might be different from someone else's—like Isis protects it by being a Seer and a Healer, but you protect it by commanding troops and fighting against tangible threats. Isis is no less a protector of her home than you are, Atem. I choose to do what I can, because it's what I want to do and what feels right to me, truly right, not a bid for power or selfish gain."

"...Your logic is impossible..." Atem sighed, closing his eyes again.

He felt the smaller teen rise and move over to sit beside him, and felt Yuugi hug him tightly. "I'm glad you didn't choose suicide, because it still would have hurt, a lot, to lose you...I already lost you once, when I sent you on to the spirit world...To do it again...I couldn't bear it, I don't think."

"You could have. You've borne worse than that."

"That depends on your definition of 'worse'."

Snorting, the Prince admitted, "I guess that's true." He was silent for a minute, then said softly, "I've missed you so much, but I was so afraid I'd hurt you again..."

"Like I said, you never make the same mistake twice."

"No, I just find new mistakes to make."

"So does everyone. Your point?"

Suddenly, Atem felt like a huge weight lifted off him and began laughing, loud, full, and true, something he hadn't done for weeks. "I've been a fool, haven't I?" he asked when his laughter was reduced to chuckles.

"Yup. But, so have I, so it's not a state singular to you," Yuugi answered, voice full of amusement.

"Thank you, Yuugi."

"Of course, Other Me."

PA-HPS-YM-SK

After that conversation, another five days passed. In that time, Yuugi had recovered and Atem could stop feeding him energy. The Prince began alternating nights in his own room and in Set's, and began joining everyone in the Hall for meals again, returning to his usual self. Everyone was heaving sighs of relief for his return to all his usual behaviors, and Yuugi had even returned to his own lessons with Set and Shada.

The Bennus had begun to return to Set with information from all over Egypt and out deep into the Sahara, but had only traces of oddities to report, most of those from the lands across the Nile in what Yuugi told the Priests was called 'the Middle East'. Those were only in untimely movements of small groups of people, mostly away from the Egyptian border, but nothing concrete or directly related to Egypt's safety. Then again, only about fifteen had returned.

Late one evening, Atem was crossing the front courtyard where the main gates were, and looked up at the curtain wall to see Mana up there. Confused and curious by why she was up on the curtain wall, the Prince walked up there and stopped beside where she sat looking out over the city, legs dangling down the outside of the wall.

"All right, Mana?" he asked her curiously.

She looked up at him in surprise, then gave a small smile and said, "I'm fine, My Prince. I just...I can't do it...I feel like I'm failing my Master because he's trying so hard to teach me and I still can't manage to summon properly..."

After a pause, Atem sat beside her and asked, "Do you know where in the process you're losing it?"

"No...It just doesn't form at the very end, even though I'm sure everything else in the energy flow is working right..." she sighed. "Maybe I just can't summon, and Master would have wasted so much time on training me when someone else would have been better..."

"You can summon," the Prince told her quietly. "I'm sure of that. He didn't choose wrong when he chose to train you—just the fact that you can paralyze and blind a whole quarter of the population of the Palace is proof of that. But tell me, what are you trying to picture when you try to summon?"

"...I sort of...picture someone like Master," Mana told him softly, blushing a bit. "He's so strong, and he's been more like a father to me than mine ever was..."

"Then that's actually your problem, and if Mahad didn't realize that, he's losing his touch. You can't imagine something already living as a human or attached directly to a currently-living human. Kaiser Seahorse is Set's soul, or part of it, so you can't summon it, because you can't summon part of his soul while he's still alive. You have two choices then. Search your soul for what form _it_ would take if part of it separated from you, or summon one of the summons we've appropriated from criminals, such as Sagi the Dark Clown, or which are spirits who reside in the spirit realm, like Kuribo."

"Oh...Well, I never really told him what I was trying to imagine..." the girl answered quietly, then perked up a bit. "But I'll try that. Thank you, Your Highness. How about you? How are you feeling after everything that's happened?"

"After everything?" he mused softly, considering the question. "Worn out, and a combination of glad I have those memories and hatred for the fact that I do."

"That's really mixed up..." Mana replied, blinking at him in concern.

"Yes, it is," he agreed. "Having Yuugi here...That makes me glad I have them, but all the insane things I've done...May still do...make me hate having to have them."

She cocked her head to the side in curious concern as she asked, "There's still something you might do like that? What is it, My Prince?"

With a deep sigh, Atem braced his hands behind him on the wall, turned backwards so he could lean on them. "I've...The destruction, the evil, the hatred, the torture I've seen others force on innocents...I can't banish any of those memories, any of those images...And yet, despite knowing that destruction is coming, I can't change it. I have to carry the burden...of letting innocent people die when I have the knowledge to save them..."

Mana gasped in horror, hand over her mouth, but she wasn't the one who answered him, it was Mahad—whose voice startled both teens and nearly made them fall from the wall—saying, "But you know as well as I do that there are times where, if one incident doesn't kill those innocents, another one will."

Atem faced the Priest and asked in surprise, "What? I thought prophesy allowed things to be changed!"

"It does—depending on which part of the prophesy is the inevitable part of it," the man answered. "In the case of a natural disaster, the likelihood of the people surviving merely by leaving the zone of the disaster until it passes is very, very high. In man-made destruction, the opposite is often the case, and the inevitable part of the event is the deaths of the people, and all you would do is change the method of death and give them a slightly longer life span. I would advise you not to worry so much about those lives, as it was the Gods themselves who told you the events could not be changed."

"That doesn't make it less of a burden..." the Prince sighed.

"My view on that is that there are two reasons you were told not to change things," Mahad informed him. "One is as you said, that Yuugi will never exist without those events. The other is that Isis and Anubis, and the other Gods, have seen the paths of the future, and have seen how those people would die, even if the event happened two weeks later and was different from the first one. If their fates are to die, they will, and if you were to try to save them, only for them to die soon after anyway, how much worse would you feel?"

Slowly, the younger man gave a small nod and said, "I guess you have a point in saying that. I guess...I'm starting to feel how Priestess Isis feels when she sees something she can't change. The difference is that all my emotion of the time is still attached to it, while Isis merely sees images free of personal emotion."

"Then distance yourself from the emotion."

"...How?"

"Allocate it to the past and leave it there. Or have Shada summon Time Wizard to adjust your personal time so things don't feel so fresh and painful."

"...Mahad, that's the first time someone's given me a quick fix for something..."

"Hardly. It only works for emotion you're willing to set aside."


	16. 16-Witness

Witness

As much as Atem wanted to be free of the emotion, he couldn't just assume he was ready to let it go. The next day, he gave some serious consideration to the issue, paying very little attention during his lessons, and only becoming fully involved in a meeting with Set after lunch.

"Something is bothering you," the High Priest said as he watched Atem pace from where he sat at the table.

"Mahad thought Time Wizard, at Shada's request, could help make my emotions less...powerful, less immediate, so they don't interfere with my state of mind so much, but he also said it would only work if I was _ready_ to let them go, to let them become distant," the Prince explained, still pacing.

"And what about that has you so riled, then?"

"Am I ready to let them go, and what happens if I think I am, but I'm actually not?"

"If you aren't sure of your position on that or all the terms, I think the first thing you should do is talk to Shada to get those full terms, then make your decision," Set informed him simply.

"But if I let them go..." Atem began at a murmur.

"You'll still be yourself, just a self not controlled by them," the High Priest replied dryly. "And I do think it might help, assuming you're ready to let go of them, so talk to Shada and make a decision."

"...Thank you, but I need a bit more time before talking with him, to decide if I even actually want to...let it all become distant," the Prince returned with a grateful smile, turning to the taller young man and giving him a hug.

The hug was readily returned, offering comfort—and a desire for more intimacy. Since Atem wasn't ready to so much as speak with the Priest of Anubis, the two took the time for each other, instead.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

Since no one was paying any attention to Yuugi that day, he went out to the stables with the intent to look at some of the other horses and say hello to Shakir again. Rather than that, when he arrived, dismayed stable hands were watching the roan and black horse prance around in the corral, especially trying to get a white mare's attention—and she was pointedly ignoring him. Yuugi chuckled and climbed into the corral, where he walked right into the prancing stallion and wrapped his arms around Shakir's neck.

"Hello again, Shakir," he said quietly as the horse stopped and dipped his head down to snuffle against his shoulder and back, and even in his hair a bit. "Yes, it's me. Having trouble impressing the lady over there?" Shakir gave a half-angry and half-sad whinny which made Yuugi chuckle again. "How about we go for a ride, then, and you can try again when we come back? Maybe she'll want company more by then."

The big horse snuffled against him again, so the boy took it as agreement and let go of Shakir's neck to hop up onto his back and call to the now-amused stable hands, "Open the gates to the desert, please." Shakir gave a clear _squeal_ of joy, so one of the younger boys ran over to get the appropriate gates open. As soon as they were, Yuugi urged the stallion forward, and Shakir bolted like an arrow launched from a bow.

They were outside and riding across open wilds, stone and rolling dunes, and scrub brush, all of it flying by. The boy had no time to register what any one thing was before it was gone again. He felt like he was flying—he'd actually forgotten for awhile how much he loved riding, since it had been three years since his last visit to his Egyptian relatives. Riding with Shakir now reminded him of that, and he smiled as he let the horse run, let him choose his own path as he rode bare-back and without a halter or reigns. It felt right.

Suddenly, they came to an oasis several feet from the top of a wadi, and Shakir stopped to get a drink. Yuugi slid off the stallion's back, frowning in confusion as he wondered why there was an oasis at the _top_ of the ravine usually water would flow through the bottom of and which were riddled with caves. It was very odd. Then, he looked out towards the edge of the wadi and saw one of Set's Bennus sitting quietly on a rock outcropping there, looking down into the ravine.

To Shakir, he whispered, "Stay here, all right? I just want to see what's wrong with the Bennu." The horse gave an agreeing snort, so Yuugi walked softly out to where the Bennu was—and about four feet from the edge of the wadi, just before his shadow would have fallen down into the ravine, he heard something.

Freezing, the teen listened carefully and heard someone snarl, "Took you long enough." It was barely loud enough to hear, so he crouched down and crept forward, looking for a path down into the wadi, otherwise he couldn't risk looking over the edge, or his shadow would give him away. There was an indent nearby, where the ground dropped down without going into a path down, so he could crouch in there to hide his shadow.

"It's not like we can just recover from the deaths of nearly three thousand slave troops," another voice sneered in return as Yuugi slipped into the indent. Carefully, he peeked over the edge and saw two men below him. One dressed in Egyptian clothing of the current age, but the other dressed in modern clothes by Yuugi's standards, both in pale colors.

"Proof," the first snarled again.

"You first. It isn't as though we need you to take over here and now with our technology," the second man replied, drawing a gun lazily and pointing it at the first.

Yuugi watched in something like horror as the first man began shifting and changing to have beaded skin, a forked tongue, and thick, black claws in place of nails. He couldn't see if the eyes changed at that distance. Then, when the first had finished changing, the second also began changing, taking on the same traits—only his were less pronounced, almost diffused. Was that simply an evolution over time, or from something else?

Swallowing hard, he watched them hiss-laugh at each other, then they switched languages and he couldn't understand them anymore. What language was that? Did it matter? He moved his eyes away from them directly so he was looking above their heads instead, knowing staring at someone would cause them to sense the presence, the eyes on them.

What he had forgotten was to pay attention to his surroundings.

A hand gripped the cloth at his neck, and he was thrown to the ground a few feet away, surrounded by four of those reptile-things. He had no further time to assess anything as he felt something sharp penetrate his shoulder, passing straight through to the ground below. Crying out in pain, Yuugi looked over at the object weakly to see a sword similar to a scimitar, and the blade was anchoring his shoulder to the ground.

Oh, that was bad.

Through his pain, he glanced around at them quickly, seeing details of their appearance he hadn't seen at a distance. Their eyes were slit-pupilled, but ranged in color like any human's eyes, and their tongues weren't all snake-like, but their faces had a lizard-ish look to them, despite how human they seemed to be. Their skin was largely tan a bit darker than Yuugi's, but he could see faint hues of other colors in the beading, like green, black, brown, and even a bit of red on one of them. Otherwise, they seemed to have a human-like appearance and stance. How had he not even thought of the possibility of guards or patrols...?

Suddenly, he felt a tearing sensation in his chest and agony flared, causing him to give a cry of pain. They traded a few words in that other language, sounding amused, then turned their attention back to him with much more sinister expressions.

"What were you doing there, child?" one of the four asked him.

"Was...riding...stopped for rest...heard strange noise in wadi..." he whispered, having the sense to just not lie blatantly when they'd caught him in that dip in the ridge.

"Well, now you belong to us, as our slave," one of the other ones informed him. "It's one less Egyptian in our way."

"What...?" Yuugi asked in confusion, trying to hold still against the blade and the continued tearing sensation he was feeling. What _was_ that tearing, what was causing it?

"Your people have been in our way for a long time. When we opened a portal to others of our kin, we found some others—ones much stronger, with much more power, with abilities and knowledge we don't have. Now, they're helping us fight you, and your people still managed to destroy an army...So we have a lot of suffering to pay you back for, don't worry," the first one informed him.

It came to him that these lizard-people were the ones who had been on the ridge, they'd just all been in human forms—or those people hadn't had lizard forms, since they'd been called slaves. They were also being a little openly free with information...then again, they weren't expecting him to escape. If he was entirely honest with himself, as long as he had a sword in his shoulder he wouldn't be able to escape, so maybe they had some right to that.

Suddenly, hooves collided with one of the lizard-people, even as a fierce, angry whinny sounded, and before the other three had time to react to the first having a crushed skull, Shakir had already turned on a second of them, trampling them. The other two drew blades to attack the horse, expressions those of seething anger and hatred—but were never able to attack the beast.

The reason: both fell to the ground with their throats slit.

"Little Prince!" a voice called to him, and Yuugi felt the sword being yanked from his shoulder, causing him to give a strangled, pained cry.

It was a struggle for him to open his eyes as he felt himself being lifted and hands pressing cloth to his injuries, but when he did, he was able to see at least five Shadow Guards gathered around him. They were quickly and efficiently binding his injury, so he closed his eyes again with a whispered thanks to the men.

"Don't sleep yet!" one called to him. "Open your eyes."

At the order, Yuugi sleepily opened them a bit, eyes drifting around absently—and saw a Shadow Guard a few feet away and facing away from the group take a sudden step back. "We have to leave this place quickly!" he told them urgently. "See if Shakir will take one of their bodies, and my stallion will be able to take one—the other two—"

"We have them. Can the little Prince be moved?" a different Guard outside Yuugi's view answered.

"Momentarily," one of the ones binding his injury said, then finished tying it. "Now."

Wait, _how_ many Shadow Guards had come after him?

Unless he'd _really_ misunderstood the High Priest's words, there should have only been two, maybe three, when Set had suggested he have Guards looking out for him...And why were they calling him 'Little Prince'?

He was lifted by the same Guard who had pulled the sword from his shoulder and carried, then he had a momentarily weightless sensation. Shortly thereafter, he felt the gait of a horse beneath him, but he was clearly being carried in the rider's arms. At least that infernal twisting and tearing in his body had dulled...But not stopped. What _was_ it? There was something oddly familiar about it...

"Never seen a horse do that before..." one of the Shadow Guards called to another one. Yuugi was too tired and in too much pain to try to determine the speaker.

"If Shakir had been right beside him at the time, I'd have believed it, but...That was the reaction of a herd-master to a valued herd member in need of assistance and protection," another Shadow Guard called back. "Or of a mother protecting a foal. I'd not call Shakir any sort of 'mother'."

"Definitely not," the first Guard agreed. "I'm very glad he did it, though, or we'd never have had the ability to reach the little Prince."

"Why...?" Yuugi murmured, and felt the Guard holding him shift.

"Why what?" a near-by voice asked, as the chest he leaned against vibrated.

"Calling me...Little Prince...?"

"You have no idea how deeply that view has invaded the Palace, especially when the Pharaoh himself ordered the full guard for you His Highness has," the Guard replied dryly. "You have been adopted for the duration of your stay, Little Prince."

He chuckled at Yuugi's groan, but the boy said, "Please...call...Yuugi..." He was so tired, and he didn't think it came all from his injury or blood loss.

A cool hand rested on his forehead, then gave a concerned hiss, but the man answered, "We have chosen what title we feel you are worthy of, Little Prince."

"...Same as...Mahad..." the boy sighed, grateful to have his eyes closed and the cool hand on his forehead.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

Some time later, he was jolted awake as someone shouted loud enough to wake the dead, "Call for Priestess Isis! The little Prince was attacked and injured!"

Groaning a bit, Yuugi realized by the commotion that they must have returned to the Palace, which meant they'd allowed him to sleep. There was still the torn sensation inside his body, but it no longer felt like it was still being torn, and his shoulder ached while he was _so hot_...

"Yuugi!" Isis' familiar voice gasped, and he felt energy flowing into him, restoring some of his strength and easing the wound in his shoulder. "How did this happen?" she asked the Guards sharply.

"Those lizard-things attacked him when he stopped at an oasis above a wadi to let the horse drink," a Guard answered.

"I need poultices—the wound is too deep for me to heal entirely at once. You bound it well. The fever will continue for a time, while it works to heal him, but I need my apprentice to monitor the degree of fever—if it rises too high, we'll need to bring it down by force. He needs liquids, and lots of them, for the amount of blood he lost," Isis listed. "I want him in the patient's chamber next to mine until he can safely be moved back to the living quarters."

"We'll take him there, then," the Shadow Guard carrying him agreed.

"Yuugi!" a new voice yelled, Atem's voice. A hand took his firmly as the Prince's voice asked urgently, "Yuugi, why didn't you summon or fight back at all?"

"Couldn't..." the smaller teen murmured, and Atem hissed. "Sword...strange..."

"The _sword_ was strange?" the Prince asked in confusion, still gripping his hand.

"Dark...twisting...tearing...Not piercing pain...other...what...?" At that point, Yuugi ran out of strength and fell unconscious again.

"Atem," Set said, taking Atem's hand and gently pulling it off Yuugi. "Let them take him to Isis for healing."

"But—!" Atem began in dismay. The Shadow Guard carrying the boy took the opportunity to leave.

"I know," the High Priest answered. When the smaller young man looked at him accusingly, he said, "I want nothing more than to gather him up and dump him in the nearest, deepest dungeon and throw away the key, if that's what it takes to keep him safe. Unfortunately, that _won't_ keep him safe. We need him recovered, and he _needs_ Isis and her apprentice for that."

Hands rested on Atem's shoulders as his father's familiar voice said, "I agree with that sentiment, Atem. Allow Priestess Isis to care for him." The Pharaoh left his hands there, gripping his son's shoulders in a way which Atem realized meant the older man saw Yuugi as another son. Ahknemkhanen was just as worried as Atem, fearing for a son's life.

"...Exactly...what _are_ these creatures?" Karim's voice asked as he eyed the one draped over Shakir's back.

The others looked at him, then at the _thing_ with the slit throat the horse had carried back to the Palace. Shakir began to protest the bleeding lizard-human being on him, so Atem held the horse still while Set and Karim took the lizard-human off its back, then released the stallion so he could return of his own accord to the corral.

"They're intelligent, and speak our language, as far as we could determine," one of the Shadow Guards informed them. "Our saving grace to save the little Prince was Shakir himself attacking them in defense of the boy, an action which took everyone by surprise and gave us opportunity to end the last two. They have much thicker skin than a human, but seem to be susceptible to the same methods of death. Only the little Prince knows what they discussed or how they fit in to this situation, however, as he is the one who spoke with them."

"Hey..." Atem began suddenly, making everyone look at him. "When did Yuugi become 'Little Prince' to everyone?"

Set's lips twitched as he said, "That's been building since he took over for you at the meetings, but I suspect the Pharaoh personally taking over his protection was what made it official. Others besides Mahad have now chosen the title for him. Jealous?"

"No, that just places him in more danger..." the Prince answered, rubbing his forehead tiredly. "What did he mean by the sword...?" Looking up, he asked, "Did any of the Shadow Guards think to bring the weapon back?"

"We tried," one Guard said, kneeling and bowing to the Crown Prince. "We couldn't touch it without feeling excruciating pain, even through cloth or a scabbard. I can't begin to imagine the agony the little Prince felt with it having cut into him and been left there for over a minute."

Groaning, Atem tipped his head back to stare skyward tiredly. "Then we have to wait for Yuugi to wake up, and to figure out what it was for himself..."

Everyone suddenly turned to stare at Set as one of his Bennus from the 'A Flock of Bennu' casting landed on his shoulder and began sending straight into the High Priest's mind the images of what it had seen and heard. Set soon looked ill, but the transmission had apparently ended as the bird vanished in the familiar way of a summoned spirit.

"Atem...Are you able to set Mirror Force around the Palace and city?" Set asked softly, eyes seeing something far away as he processed the bird's data.

"Why?" the Prince asked as everyone stared at him.

"I think we'll need it, since I don't think they want Yuugi to be able to tell us what he knows," the High Priest replied. "There was a witness—one of the enemy."

"Two, actually," one of the Shadow Guards said then. "One who was openly visible to us, the other not. But Mirror Force..."

"I can. As I said, I'm not sure of my range, but I suppose I'll find that out," Atem sighed, then closed his eyes and focussed.

A moment later, a wave of energy spread out from him, nearly as strong as the one Yuugi had put out a couple weeks before, and fell over Palace and city. He'd been able to reach the city wall, just as Yuugi had. Opening his eyes again, he gave a nod to Set, who returned it, and both ignored all the stares now directed at the Prince.

"Good, you have the same range," the High Priest sighed in relief. "And now, it's up to Isis, and to Yuugi. I hope you won't have to activate Mirror Force, though."

"Better safe than sorry," Atem told him. "You're right on that, and I doubt as much as you do that they would just _let_ Yuugi reveal them to us any more than they already have been. Especially if it's true they're intelligent."

"Did the other one, the one who looked less reptilian and wore strange clothes, stay to watch what happened on the ridge, then?" Set asked the Shadow Guards.

"We don't know his appearance," the Guard who had known about the second presence answered.

"What do you mean by 'strange clothes'?" Atem blinked.

"...Similar, I suppose, to what Yuugi wore when the Gods first brought him here," Set replied, and blinked as Atem's eyes went huge.

"If he saw Yuugi, he's going to know exactly who he's dealing with..." the Prince said tersely. "Yuugi is a popular figure back home, and everyone knows what he looks like, and what his skills and powers are. If someone from his homeland saw him, our battle just got a lot harder."

"They know he can summon and such as well, when _he_ didn't even know he could or realize what he was doing?" the High Priest asked in concern.

The question made Atem pause, then give a wry grin. "No, maybe they won't know that part. And if the Shadow Guards called him 'Prince' where they could hear, they might just think its coincidence we look alike and the one they attacked was me. Still..."

"The essential message is to be prepared for battle," the Pharaoh put in. "By the by...what was that Bennu doing here, High Priest?"

"I had called on their assistance to attempt to trace any further conflict at the hands of this enemy," Set replied, facing the Pharaoh with a small bow. "That one was witness to the events at the oasis and wadi. I am duly impressed with Shakir's protectiveness towards the younger Prince." The last point he said with a smirk at Atem.

"We don't actually know if Shakir would do the same for me, as I was never attacked while riding him," the Prince said dryly.

"Point taken—but it is still amusing," Set snickered, and Atem smiled in reply.


	17. 17-Waiting

Waiting

All the people in the Palace could do was wait for Yuugi to wake up, and in the meantime, life continued as normal for most of the inhabitants. Atem and Set spent the most time sitting in the 'younger Prince's' healing room, but all of the Guardian-rank Priests and the Pharaoh also visited him there for updates. Isis, taking care of the boy with help from her assistant, kept them updated as they came and went, but throughout the night, nothing of his condition changed.

She knew something was wrong, but there was no way to trace it. All she knew was that the problem was neither physical injury, nor poison, nor magical injury—it was something else, something which ran deeper. Prince Atem, sitting quietly on the edge of the pallet where Yuugi lay, suddenly looked up at the exhausted healer and Seer, even as early morning sun shone into the room through the windows. She saw the movement and paused her work preparing another poultice which would help draw the heat from the smaller boy's body.

"Priestess Isis, have you tried to See those lizard-men?" he asked quietly.

With a sigh, the woman answered, "I have had no time to do so. I intend to, as soon as the little Prince has recovered enough for me to leave him unattended." Her hands returned to their work automatically, knowing the motions and measurements by heart, but her attention stayed on him.

"Humor me and try once the poultice is done. I can apply it to his forehead," Atem replied, making her look over at him, hands still again.

"Is there a reason this can't wait?" the Priestess-healer asked quietly.

"...Just a suspicion," the Crown Prince answered softly. "Just...I have a feeling...You won't be able to See them. I have a feeling...they're shielded somehow from your sight, from the Gods' sight...But maybe you'll See something. I don't want you to try too hard, though—don't exhaust yourself trying."

The woman was silent as she finished mixing the herbs and added water and flour to it to form the poultice. As she mixed those in to create a thick paste, she answered, "I am able to make such an attempt, short-lived though it may be. Is there anything in particular you want me to try to See? The survivors of the attack on Prince Yuugi, maybe?"

Shaking his head, Atem—to her immense surprise—said, "No, I want you to See 'their society'. I want you to See parents with children, farmers, hunters, artificers, blacksmiths, tailors...Are they in danger? Is there some reason, something causing them harm, which would lead them to attack us like this? It's obvious the ones from Yuugi's home have...inconsequential reasons, but what of the ones from right here, right now? Is there a reason? If you can See that, See who _they are_ , I would much prefer to have that knowledge than anything else at the moment."

"...Will that change your response to them?" she asked quietly, taking the mixing bowl over to the older Prince with the poultice ready to be applied.

He took the bowl as he said, "To the ones from this land, perhaps. To the ones who have come here from—elsewhere, absolutely not."

"Very well. Apply it all evenly to his forehead, temples, and cheekbones," the woman instructed, and he nodded, so she moved a stool to the wall and leaned against it, drawing in deep breaths as she prepared to open herself to the universal knowledge. While it was often the case for visions to come to her, she could also induce them, and now was such a time...

As her breath evened and she sought out 'the people' she was looking for, she found herself seeing a fog, as a formless force informed her in no uncertain terms that what she sought was not hers to seek. What the force was, she didn't know, but it felt more powerful, yet less 'attached' to any group in particular, than any of the Egyptian Gods were. _Any_ of them, Ancient Elementals or otherwise. She sought the force then, and asked 'why' she couldn't see if they were in danger and needed help. The response shocked her—they were both forsaken and granted favor by a higher power, and would live or die by their own actions, not through meddling. They would never be more than they were without the ability to 'love', and no kindness of others would bring them to understand that.

As it propelled her from the vision, it told her to never allow her own people to lose their love.

Priestess Isis opened her eyes wide to see Atem kneeling in front of her, his gaze worried as he asked, "Are you well? Were you harmed somehow? I am so sorry to have—"

"Stop, Your Highness," she cut him off gently. "I am not harmed, just...greatly surprised by what I made contact with."

"...I see," the Prince murmured, still looking worried. "One of their Seers?"

"No," she answered, rising and looking around. In the time she had been searching for the race and the being, the Crown Prince—of all people!—had not only applied the poultice, but washed his hands, the bowl, and her preparation tools. As such, she went to Yuugi to scan him with her magic, still finding the same traits as before, though now he was slightly cooler as the poultice worked to leech some of the heat from his head.

Sitting back with a small sigh as Atem returned to his place beside the younger and smaller boy, the Priestess said, "It was a being more powerful than our Gods. It told me to pass on to our people to never lose our ability to love, because otherwise, we risk becoming like those beings...both forsaken and granted favor by another being more powerful than our Gods. The favor, I assume, is that I am unable to See anything of them, but the forsaken...That, even should they be in harm's way, we are not allowed to relieve them of it—only their own actions may do so. Should they choose a path of war, so is to be our retaliation, and their own end, because without love, they will never move forward from where they are."

"In other words, there may be a valid reason, but what drives them isn't desperation, it's hatred or some other feeling which doesn't deserve leniency," the Prince sighed, biting his lower lip as he gazed down at Yuugi.

"...So it would seem," the woman agreed, going back to her bench to begin working on another medicine for the younger boy. "Thank you for cleaning up, Your Highness."

"You're welcome. I thought it was only fair, since I was asking you to do something for me which shouldn't have been your concern just now," he answered.

She chuckled at that, but before she could answer, the door opened. Both Atem and Isis glanced over to see Set and Shada there.

The High Priest gave Isis a nod, which she returned, then moved over to the pallet, followed by the Priest of Anubis, who was watching Atem. "Update?" Set asked as he sat beside the Crown Prince.

"No change, though the fever is slightly lowered with the new poultice I prepared," Isis immediately stated, and the two men nodded.

Set then looked at Atem and said, "You need to speak with Shada."

"But—" Atem began in alarm. "Yuugi—"

"Is a poor excuse, and you know it, Atem. We can't do anything but wait now, but you have better things to do with your time," the High Priest replied in a distinctly dry tone. "I'm not saying you need to make a decision right now, but _talk_ with him about it so you have all the complete, correct information."

After a silence, the Prince sighed and gave a small nod. Looking up at Shada, he said, "Mahad mentioned to me that you know of a method of using Time Wizard's power to make emotions seem more distant. He wasn't sure of the details, which is what I want now. In particular, the results if it doesn't work because—I'm not sure I'm ready to let go of the emotions you'd need to make distant."

The older Priest nodded and said, "I had wondered if I should mention that to you myself after the number of times I've seen your turmoil, My Prince. Let me keep the explanation simple, then. Time Wizard manipulates time, and we normally take that to refer to the 'passage of time' in this physical world. To our souls, however, 'time' is a relative term, and so it is to spirits as well. The passage of time dulls events for us, assuming we let them go and do not dwell on them repeatedly, but the events remain fresh should we continue to call up the memory often.

"Emotion is more closely tied with the soul than our thoughts are, so by having a spirit manipulate the 'time' of your spirit, the emotion is able to fade, but not disappear entirely—only mind-healing will accomplish that. In the event that you are too attached yet to the memory and emotion, it will simply do nothing, the only drawback being that there is a gap of time before your soul would be willing to make another attempt. For most, that is a full cycle of the seasons, therefore, it would be best to be sure you wish this before attempting it."

"I see," Atem said quietly, suddenly feeling like a weight had been lifted off him. "Then there is nothing dangerous about the process. That's good to know."

"In this case, no, there is nothing dangerous," Shada agreed. "You may inform me when you're prepared to undergo the distancing."

He turned to go, but was stopped by Atem saying, "If Yuugi hasn't woken by tomorrow evening, do it then. My feelings for the current situation may stay, but everything else—the memories I was given by the Gods—I need to make them distant, otherwise I continue to risk my own sanity."

"I understand," Shada said over his shoulder. "I will prepare, then, while you calm your mind and work to make those emotions ready for release."

"Thank you, Priest Shada," the Crown Prince replied, and Shada left.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Set asked with a small smile.

"...No," Atem agreed, also smiling a bit. "Thank you as well."

"Consider it retaliation for all the times you did the same to me before now," the High Priest snorted, but covered Atem's hand with his own.

Isis made an exasperated sound and said, "Kindly take yourselves to the High Priest's chamber if you wish for some intimate time—any other chamber currently and you will be caught." She wasn't facing them, and hadn't faced them, so had Seen it.

Both blushed furiously, but rose. As they were about to leave, Atem asked her, "Are you all right with this, then?"

She lifted her shoulders in an ancient, half-formed equivalent to a shrug, saying, "My Prince, I am a healer. I have seen all manner of unusual relationships, and no longer bother to judge them. Do as you wish, but keep it discreet, that is all I ask."

"Thank you again," Atem said, fully meaning the heart-felt words, then left with Set.

Isis knew he'd be back in a few short hours, and wondered how she could get him to rest properly so his own health wouldn't deteriorate. Then, a sly smile appeared on her lips and she quickly finished the medicine for Yuugi before beginning a different one. She gave the one for Yuugi to her apprentice for the younger woman to apply to the shoulder wound while she mixed a liquid...

PA-HPS-YM-SK

That evening, while Atem sat with Yuugi, Isis handed him a drink with some simple food—a bit of bread, cheese, and fruit. He ate and drank, not noticing anything off about the drink, and drifted quite peacefully into sleep with his head laying on Yuugi's good shoulder. The Priestess heaved a sigh of relief and shifted him to the side a bit, then returned to her duties and care of the younger Prince. The boy's fever finally broke during the night, which meant he was starting to recover, and that was all to the good. When he would wake, however, she didn't know.

Atem woke in the morning feeling refreshed, but groaned as he realized what it meant, so rolled over to scan the room. Only the apprentice healer was there right then, and she was working intently on a medicine while reading a scroll. She was obviously new to the particular medicine she was making, so he didn't want to disturb her.

Instead, while she followed the instructions, she said, "Your Highness, Priestess Isis asked me to inform you that she gave you a mild sedative, knowing you needed your rest if you wished to be prepared for Priest Shada this evening, and to be capable of watching over your younger brother much longer. She does not regret her actions. Also, Prince Yuugi's fever broke in the early morning hours, so she left to rest for a few hours as well."

"I see," he said, then realized he'd been saying those words a lot lately and sighed. "In other words—healer's orders were for me to rest, but knowing how stubborn I am about people I care for, she decided an 'order' wouldn't suffice."

"I am uncertain of my Mistress' reasons, Your Highness, but she felt very strongly that her actions were necessary," the apprentice replied, pausing with a frown as she read the page. "Strain? With what?" she muttered in confusion.

"There's a sheer, white cloth and wooden rim on the far rack. Place it over a jar, secure it, and pour in whatever it is you need to strain," Atem informed her dryly. Admittedly, next to none of their medicines required that action, so it was likely a new tool and process for her. It also meant Yuugi's shoulder wound was still healing.

She looked up at him in surprise, then turned to look at the far rack. As she saw what he meant, she went to fetch it, asking in amusement as she did, "How did you know that, Your Highness? You've never made a study of medicines, have you?"

"No, only some basic ones," he replied. "Unfortunately, I once left a wound from my weapons practice for far too long, and watched her prepare the poultice she needed to heal both the infection and the over-strained injury. It's the same one she's been making for Yuugi's torn wound from that magicked blade."

"I see. Then, thank you very much for pointing me in the right direction, My Prince," she answered with a smile, setting up the cloth for the straining.

"You're welcome," he answered with a small, amused smile. She was indeed a good apprentice for Isis to teach her healing to.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

The day passed quietly after that, and Shada arrived in the evening, meeting Atem's even gaze before nodding and saying, "If you are prepared, My Prince, you should lay down or lean against something. The initial sensation is known to be disorienting as your conscious mind accepts its new state, and you will need a few minutes to re-orient yourself afterwards.

"Understood," the Crown Prince agreed as Isis and her apprentice watched with interest. Atem moved to the corner where the pallet met the wall by the head of the pallet, near where he would normally sit at Yuugi's side. When he was settled against the hard stone to two sides of and under him, Shada moved to stand near his feet.

The Priest extended his hand to the side and called, "Time Wizard, come to my side!" Next to him appeared the odd being, much like a time-keeper with arms, legs, and a face which was visible in the flat of the time-keeper. It looked at Shada patiently, and the man told it, "His Highness needs much of his emotional burden to be made distant. Current emotions immediately present are to be left for him, but he was granted memories by the Gods, and the associated emotions are overwhelming in their current state. Make those emotions only more distant."

Time Wizard made an agreeing noise and tugged on some of Shada's energy and memories in order to focus the correct energy and effect on the Prince. As soon as the bolt of power the creature unleashed hit Atem, he felt dizzy, even as something began picking through the depths of his soul. Things, feelings inside him, began separating into two parts: one part contained guilt, pain, horror, despair, desperation, and even hatred; the other part included his feelings for Yuugi, his love for Set, his current worry, and other immediate concerns.

Suddenly, even as his eyes slid shut, the Crown Prince felt the portion containing the guilt, horror, and hatred being suddenly torn away and _shoved_. He felt ill as it drew outside his immediate grasp, and he instinctively tried to reach for it—then sighed and let it go. His body relaxed as the emotions were pushed down, away, until they came to settle somewhere which felt far away. They stopped there and the rush of both relief and sickness caused him to slump over, arms tightly clutching his body.

When his head finally stopped spinning, he could feel a hand holding a cool cloth to his forehead, but the hand was too large to be Isis' or her apprentice's. Slowly, he opened his eyes to see Shada, and started to push himself upright, but found his muscles weak as the Guardian-Priest said quietly, "Easy now. Slowly, My Prince, or you may find yourself back in the state you were just in." The man sounded somewhat amused, but gave him a hand as he tried to settle back into the corner he'd chosen.

Finally, he could look up at Shada without feeling like he was underwater, blinking a few times as he met the man's dark eyes. "...Odd...I tried to reach for them, then...let them go..."

"And how do you feel now?" the Priest of Anubis asked softly.

"...Lighter than I have since that day..." the Crown Prince answered equally softly.

"Good," Shada smiled. "Then, it did as it was meant to, and you made the correct decision in that moment. What remains is for you to work through, in a much more controlled environment. Get some rest while your mind finishes adapting."

"I will," Atem agreed, and the older man gave him a smile before lifting him up onto the pallet beside Yuugi. The man then left, and Atem slipped into sleep as Isis placed another cool cloth on his forehead.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

Yuugi had no idea how much time had passed by the time he woke, but he still felt that torn void in his soul. Then, his mind caught up with what he'd just thought, and he realized what he'd thought originally to be pain to his physical body wasn't that at all—it was his soul, spirit, self, which had been damaged! Quickly, he began searching his own soul, starting with his soul room—it still existed, with a hall to nowhere outside it, so logically, it was the first place to go to look for damage.

And he found it. The room had missing walls, floors, and objects, some of the things in it were sheared off to varying degrees, and there was nothing smooth about the damage. There was no pattern to it, either, the damage being randomly scattered about the soul room, resulting in nearly half of it being missing. Searching for the missing pieces also led him to nothing—they weren't there anymore.

Opening his eyes and sitting up fast nearly caused him to pass out, but Atem's familiar voice gasped, "Yuugi!" and the taller's arms caught him before he fell back to the bed.

"It's the soul!" the boy groaned into the Prince's shoulder.

"What are you talking about?" Atem asked in concern. "Your injury has mostly healed and your fever gone down, by the way."

"Remember the duel with Malik, when both you and he had your light halves separate from you and when you took damage, our souls were torn apart?" Yuugi asked tiredly, pushing back to look up at Atem.

"Of course. Why?"

"The sword—it was ripping and tearing at my soul the same way! Look for damage to my soul, not my body, or even my magic, and you'll see it."

The Prince's eyes widened, then he delved into his soul room—currently more resembling his Prince's room, but with a dark labyrinth in one corner—and went to the 'hall to nowhere' outside his room. From it, he stepped over to Yuugi's similar hall, and opened the door to his light half's room. He saw the damage and felt ill. For this to happen to his light...after everything, for _this_ to happen...

Withdrawing from the soul room, Atem hugged the smaller boy tightly, tears running down his cheeks silently as he felt the smaller boy's pain. He was oblivious to the others in the room, they both were, even though they were all staring at the two weeping young men in something like shock and great concern. Yuugi wept on his shoulder, clutching at his chest as he tried to reconcile what was now missing from him, so Atem just held him.

It was all he could do right then.

Finally, Yuugi stopped crying, drifting back into sleep, and Atem looked up at the others in the room, tears still on his cheeks. His father had joined Isis, Set, and Mahad at some point while the two Princes had been crying.

"My son, what happened?" Ahknemkhanen asked, moving over to grip Atem's shoulder comfortingly.

"The sword..." Atem began, then paused to draw in a shuddering breath. "The magic on the sword tore apart his soul much like we do to criminals' souls...but the parts of his soul which were torn off are just... _gone_ ," the Prince answered quietly, to the horror of the others in the room. "Nearly a full half of my light's soul is..."

"Atem," the Pharaoh began as Atem laid Yuugi back down on the bed.

"No. Not at this moment," the Prince answered, rising and turning to step outside. "Do not speak to me now." Quietly, he left the room, but all of its current occupants had felt his energy pulsing, trying desperately to break free of his hold. If he were to snap and unleash it, in that moment, he could tear down the Palace himself, and they all knew it.

As such, they let him go.


	18. 18-To Battle

To Battle

It was the middle of the night, and Atem was standing on the Palace's curtain wall, hands resting on the front edge as he looked out over the city and to the land beyond it. There were guards to both sides of him in the distance, as everyone was feeling the waves of energy coming off him and were too afraid to approach. That suited him fine, as his mind worked through the data he, Yuugi, and the Priests had previously discussed about the enemy. Did they deserve his wrath?

After hearing what Isis had said about them and seeing what they'd done to Yuugi, he was prepared to step into the deepest darkness to destroy them.

It was probably safe to say that some of them were in that wadi where Yuugi had been attacked, or had been before Yuugi escaped, but those ones weren't necessarily his targets. No, the situation was bigger than that, much bigger, and he knew he didn't have enough time in his lifetime to find every last one of those things and kill them.

No, he had to pick his battles. Oh, he would hunt down the ones in Egypt, there was no doubt of that, but first, he had to find and get rid of the portal. That was his priority, and it was where he would unleash all the pent-up rage now bubbling below the surface of his skin, heating him, making him almost crazy to unleash it. This was nothing compared to the memories he'd been given, but it was that protectiveness of his other half which had led to causing his light suffering.

Only this time, there was neither doubt nor guilt. His enemy was beyond saving, and they would reap what they'd sown.

"You're scaring the guards, you know," Set's voice came to him from a couple feet away.

"Don't care," Atem replied, voice devoid of emotion. _Where_ was that damned portal? He needed to know that first.

The High Priest sighed. "Isis told us about what happened when she tried to See them. I know what you're thinking...and Atem—"

"I won't stop this time," the Prince cut in harshly.

"Unless you were insane, I wouldn't stop you, anyway," Set snorted, making Atem turn to face him. "You're completely, frighteningly in control right now, the exact opposite of the other recent times you were angry. No, Atem, what I was going to say is 'don't go without me'. I don't care where it is or the Hell you plan on turning it into, let me be there with you—let me help you create Hell on Earth for those bastards."

"I can't do that to you. You've never truly seen me in a rage, and I have no intention of holding back. At all."

"Of course not. But frankly, you can't find them without me, anyway."

Atem paused at the words as a Bennu landed on Set's shoulder, reminded of the one in control of their information gatherers. It was a good point, that, so he sighed. "Only because it's you and you'll know where the portal is before me," he allowed.

"Good. Now that we're clear on that, the Pharaoh has spoken with the other Priests and they're discussing what, if anything, can be done for Yuugi," Set informed him. "But once we knew what kind of damage we were looking for—Atem, his soul was already rebuilding itself. He's in no fit shape for anything right now, but he would eventually recover of his own accord, even from this. We're hoping to speed the process, or retrieve at least some of the parts so he has less to rebuild."

After a long silence, Atem nodded. "Thank you, Set."

The High Priest gripped his shoulder tightly. "We'll get them."

"You're so sure."

"They can't see my Bennus. They can see other kinds of creatures, but not the Bennus. I can't fathom why, but even with Yuugi, when they attacked him, they had completely missed the Bennu watching them, and it was completely out of its element, with no reason to be there. If they could have seen it, surely they would have tried to kill or destroy it. But this is now a repeated pattern—and they just can't seen the Bennus, even though we, and even our people, can."

"...Our people can see them?" Atem asked, pointing down at the city below them. "Non-magical people as well as magical?"

"That's right," Set agreed, then blinked as understanding filled the Prince's eyes. "Do you know why?"

"It's conjecture, but the Bennu is the essence of reincarnation—and of love, kindness, and caring. They've detached themselves from love, those lizard-people, so it's possible they can't see something based purely on that very thing, while our own people, who willingly give love and caring to others, _can_ see them."

"Possible, yes. The result is infinitely useful to us, since it means the Bennus can go right into their homes, bases, and territories and pinpoint anything we need or want them to find. As for the ones besides the portal monitors and future ones..."

"I want to route them from Egypt once the portal is dealt with. We don't need to necessarily kill them all or chase down ones outside Egypt, but there's no bloody way I'm leaving them here to harm our people."

"We'll have to pick them out of the population of whatever group we find them in, because not only do they speak Egyptian, but another language too, at least one other. It took awhile of hearing it before I realized what language it is. I would never say everyone belonging to the race who speaks it is also one of these lizard-people, but their ability to look human makes me think they've been hiding in an otherwise good race for far too long."

"Why? What language is it?"

"...Hebrew, Atem."

"Could you determine what they said?"

"Not fully, but it sounded a lot like they said his soul was pure and strong and _tasted good_ , so they'd keep him alive as long as they could, just so they could _enjoy the flavor_."

"They _ate_ his soul?" Atem asked in something like horror.

"So it sounds like, and as far as I can tell—and this is also with Isis' input—the rest of the nation has no idea what's happening to them or to others who show similar traits."

Turning back to face the city and lean on the wall, a new surge of rage filled him, not for Yuugi this time, but for the deceit of the lizard-people and the harm they'd brought to at least one other race. To the best of his knowledge, the people of that nation were good people—ones whose society had been deteriorating slowly for hundreds of years. If the lizard-people were the sole cause of that deterioration, they had trespassed in so many souls genocide might well be the only way to stop the destruction they wrought.

Shaking his head slowly, Atem said, "We'll route them from Egypt. We won't pursue them further, but we'll keep an eye out to prevent them from returning to this land. I won't go so far as genocide, because that's no longer 'protecting' my people...or anyone's people. Our problem is what happens _here_. They can deal with their own problems, and we'll lend our support if they should ever happen to ask for it, nothing more. Otherwise...we would be as bad as them."

"And this is your strength, to clearly see the path we need to follow, and to act on it decisively...You may have to be the one to convince the Pharaoh to protect only Egypt, not take the battle elsewhere. Also should we take the battle elsewhere...Who would protect Egypt?" Set asked quietly, leaning on the wall beside the Prince.

Atem nodded, then faced the High Priest. "As I said, our problem is what happens here, nowhere else." His gaze moved to the main Palace as he said, "And I should get back to Yuugi's side until you know where they are."

"In your current state?"

"My being away from him does him more harm than good right now, since my soul will help to fill in the empty parts of his own. That's what a light and darkness bond is."

"Very well. I'll visit again in the morning."

"Good."

With that, the Crown Prince headed back inside and to Yuugi's room, where he was still being kept now that they knew of his damage.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

Two days passed, and Atem didn't have nearly enough time to spend with Yuugi because his father was determined to do exactly what he _shouldn't_ do—go slaughter innocent humans in the hopes of finding more lizard-people. Finally, the Crown Prince managed to force his own father's hand into submission, making him stay within Egypt's borders to hunt for the lizard-people. In so doing, he earned the respect of the entire Egyptian court a thousand times over, having just shown his leadership ability exceeded his father's, even at his young age.

Finally, during the evening meal—where Atem argued fiercely with his father once again and the only nobles not present were Set, Isis, and Shada (where were they, anyway?)—Set threw open the doors. All eyes went to him as he took a moment to catch his breath, then he called out, "I have the location of their portal here. We haven't a moment to lose—the portal was active, and people were coming from it!"

"Where?" the Pharaoh asked harshly, rising.

"Sit. Down. Father," Atem ordered harshly as he rose as well, and everyone turned to stare at him. Ahknemkhanen actually sagged back into his seat as he felt the power coming off his son, and the Prince looked up to meet Set's eyes. "Where are they?"

"The Valley of the Kings—the one place we have no reason to go to unless one of our royal line dies," the High Priest answered clearly.

Shudders ran around the room as Atem crossed his arms and said, "Then only the Guardians, priests, and mages are able to cross safely to their portal." He faced his father and said, "I will be commanding this attack." As Ahknemkhanen opened his mouth, Atem ordered, "You and Uncle Akhenaten will stay here to protect _your people_. We've already discussed this, Father. It is not my fate to die here or now, but I cannot make the same guarantees of you, and there are still people here needing protection. Yuugi is only the start."

"Even you are not immune to the effects and curses of the Valley, my son," the Pharaoh told him with a frown.

"I have no intention of trying to be 'immune' to them," the Prince answered with a positively evil smirk. "I intend on _activating_ them."

The words and Atem's expression frightened them all, including the Pharaoh and Vizier, causing Mahad to clear his throat and ask, "Shall we gather our more experienced priests and mages—and perhaps an odd few apprentices—My Prince?"

"No apprentices. I will not consider even Mana fit for this battle unless she can summon," Atem replied. "We need mages and priests with attack magic and paralysis so the enemy cannot flee. This ends here. Healers are to be on standby here for when we return. We also need a few skilled in defensive spells, but I have no intention of requesting—"

He suddenly shut up as he felt something strike his Mirror Force barrier, and he instantly activated it, throwing the attack back at the attacker. The land rocked, making several people gasp and shout in surprise, and when the rolling stopped, the Prince looked pointedly at his father and uncle, who both paled in realization. With that realization, the other Guardians and priests also realized what had just happened, so the Pharaoh rose.

"A two-pronged attack," the man stated, and Atem nodded. "We will defend the Palace and city, and the apprentices will be able to assist in the battle here much easier. Go, Atem, and come back safely." He gripped the Prince's shoulder tightly for a moment, then headed out of the room at a run, yelling for the assembly of the guards and troops. Everyone sprang into action as Akhenaten also gripped Atem's shoulder for a moment before following his brother.

Atem faced Mahad, Karim, and Set, saying, "We don't have long, and we can't take a lot of people with us. What of Shada? Isis is staying here, for certain."

"He's in contact with Anubis, trying to find a way to recover Yuugi's missing soul pieces," Karim answered.

With a nod, the Prince said, "Find me the people I was talking about before, no more than ten of them for each of us. Send the rest to my father for orders. I'll go outside to the back, outside the wall, to arrange transportation to the Valley. By the 'back' I mean the hidden path to the lower floodplain the Nile occasionally reaches."

He walked out before they could answer, leaving them to find the appropriate support while he thought about how to transport forty-four people to the Valley of the Kings quickly. Suddenly, he grinned in amusement as he realized there was a very convenient 'monster' of transportation. In the card game, it was often called 'Yomi Ship', but he'd have to use its true name now, and he'd need to call on four, if not five, of them. Though, because they were spirits, and as far as he knew, there were several of them, it shouldn't be a trial to get enough of them.

Outside, he took a quick look around and saw that no one was there—the attack, as he'd thought, wasn't on this side of the city. Drawing in a deep breath, Atem let it out as he breathed, "Ship Crossing to the Afterlife, come to me. Five of you, I need your help to reach the Valley of the Kings and stop our attackers."

In front of him, five fair-sized Egyptian transport ships appeared, and he received agreement to his request from each of them. They were sleek, pale, red-hued wood with a small, covered shelter to the rear of the ship, and four beings who were clearly spirit beings without detailed features stood at the sides of the ships with long paddle-rods. The covered shelter was made of cloth and reinforced by palm fronds, which would also keep rain off and deflect wind.

A moment later, Mahad left the Palace saying, "My Prince, we have—" He and the ten Priests and Priestesses behind him all stopped to stare.

"Get on. I believe it's roughly eight or nine to a ship," Atem answered in wry amusement. Set arrived with ten more, these a mix of priests and mages, followed shortly by Karim, who also had a mix of priests and mages following him.

"...Are you sure the ships to the Afterlife are...safe for the living to use?" Mahad asked carefully, clearly sounding perturbed.

"When asked, yes," the Prince replied dryly. He looked at the others—all of them—and asked, "Were you already briefed on our task and goal?" At their agreement, he said, "Then let me add one thing—whatever you do, stay well out of my way and my path. Your main tasks are to stay at the perimeter and prevent escape, not to join me in battle, no matter how much danger you think I'm in. I won't risk your lives in my rage. Oh, and avoid being struck by their weapons at all costs—those weapons will rip your souls apart, and our enemies will devour that energy, so don't risk it."

The others looked a little ill, even Mahad and Karim, but one woman stepped forward and said, "I believe we all understand your concerns, Your Highness, and your determination to end this in our favor. We will do what we can in the battle, within the commands you have given."

"Good," Atem nodded as he saw the others gain determined looks and nods at her words. "Because we're all that's left between them and our kingdom. I'm counting on you, on all of you. Also to come back alive."

"Yes, Your Highness," they all agreed.

"Karim, Mahad, stay close to the group to give active orders as needed, but you have some freedom of movement onto the battlefield," Atem instructed as everyone got on the ships, Atem, Set, Mahad, and Karim on one with a few others. "Set, since you already gave me your—er—requirement in this, you're with me. I'm counting on you to watch my back if I forget to watch it myself." The ships rose and began flying in the direction of the Valley of the Kings.

"As far as I'm concerned, you're free to leave your back to me, because I'm not leaving your side," the High Priest replied steadily. "Thanks to the Bennus, I have a _very_ good idea of what I'm getting in to, maybe even more than you."

"So you say," Atem allowed as he watched their progress. The ships moved quite fast, so he gave the one he rode a pat—and it purred under his hand, making him chuckle. "I didn't know the ships to the Afterlife could _purr_ ," he told the others on his ship, making them all grin in amusement. "Anyway, from here on out...It's do or die, as they like to say in Yuugi's homeland." His serious expression prompted nods from Set, Mahad, and Karim.

"We'll end this today, for Egypt, and for Yuugi," Mahad answered.

"I'll warn you, they have a power, but it's not like ours," Set put in right then, his gaze distant and thoughtful. "It has some similarities to initial mage training or the kinds of lessons I gave Yuugi, but it retains the same formless nature as those exercises in more powerful forms. I don't know the whole extent of it, but I wouldn't put it past them to levitate and throw objects at us, or to create barriers for protection. For the four of us, that's important, because the ones we'll be targeting are the lizard-people, but the rest, and the ones most likely to run, are the humans serving them."

Gazing ahead of them, Atem noted they were near the Valley, so he intoned to all five ships, "Ships Crossing to the Afterlife, come into the Valley low, just in case they're foolish enough to attack you, my friends." The ships responded with amusement the whole group felt, and lowered themselves nearer to the ground as requested.

"Why?" Karim asked in confusion.

"If the ships are destroyed, it won't hurt me because they're already dead—they aren't actually 'spirit summons' the way Curse of Dragon would be considered. But what they do when they're destroyed...is take their attacker back to the Afterlife with them. Of course, they also drop their current living cargo..."

"Ah," Karim nodded. "You expect us to be shot down and would rather we don't have far to fall."

"That's about it," the Prince agreed in a dry tone.

Then, they were at the Valley of the Kings, passing over the ridge and down into the Valley...

PA-HPS-YM-SK

Shada, sitting beside Yuugi in a trance as he spoke with Anubis, came out of his trance to see a worried Isis return to the room. He now had instruction, but needed Akhenaten's help, and now something else had their Priestess-healer worried.

"Isis? What is it?" he asked, standing.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" she asked immediately.

"Yes, we have a possible method, but we need Akhenaten's help to take the soul pieces as Anubis and I find them and send them in Yuugi's direction. The task is not easy by any means—the time it took to find the two Anubis is already holding was extensive. Searching the Afterlife for soul fragments is a task, because they are 'there' but not 'present', not until the whole soul is reunited. The Vizier-Priest is the only one able to step into the boy's mind to take them and place them," he explained. "However, what happened to leave you so worried?"

"We are under attack and the Prince has left to destroy the portal our enemies are coming here through," Isis sighed. "We healers are on standby for battle injuries from both parties."

"By Ra...But Anubis said we need to awaken Yuugi with a completed soul, the Palace and city cannot stand against them without him..." Shada answered, shaking. "The time...and to draw Akhenaten away from the battle..."

"Go, Shada. Do not waste your time here," Isis told him. "Yuugi barely wakes as it is, and you can do no more without Akhenaten. Bring him here, then."

Feeling suddenly steady, Shada straightened and gave a nod, then rose and ran from the room to see what was happening outside and to find the Priest whose help he needed. The Pharaoh was likely to be at the very top of the Palace, where he had a clear view of Palace, city, and lands beyond the wall. Sure enough, as he ran up the last flight of stairs into that chamber, which was open to the air on all sides, he found the Pharaoh and Priest Akhenaten, and he could see even from where he stood that there were summoned beings present outside the city wall, fending off enemy troops. And yet, it seemed to be a losing battle...

Anubis was right. They needed Yuugi.

"Akhenaten, Anubis has said we need Yuugi to win this," Shada said without preempt, making both men look at him. "We have a means to repair his soul and wake him, but we need your help, Vizier-Priest. There is no time to lose if that battle out there is any indication."

The two looked back at the battlefield, then at each other, then the Pharaoh said, "If this is Anubis' word, I will take it as fact. I will hold them, not try to defeat them. Go wake my younger son." With nods, Akhenaten and Shada left to go back to Yuugi.


	19. 19-Battle of the Portal

Battle of the Portal

As the ships descended to the Valley floor, Atem was able to get a good view of the Valley, letting him see a host of troops, a bustling military camp, and in the distance, near the middle of the Valley, an object. It wasn't very clear from the distance they were at, but it appeared to be some type of stand with a large object on it which seemed to glow. The Prince was guessing that was the portal. Since the Valley of the Kings was composed of a patch of desert surrounded by tall, stone cliffs, the only ways out were via the far side of the Valley, or the one Atem and his group had just come from.

It was good he'd just oriented himself, because explosions rocked the five ships right then. The three at the front vanished in bursts of light, and those bursts of light lanced out and struck something outside the range of their view, even as the people on those three ships yelped and fell to the ground. They hadn't fallen far, only a handful of feet and onto soft sand, so weren't injured and quickly recovered themselves. Atem, Set, Mahad, and Karim were amongst those to fall, and the other two ships stopped as their passengers began jumping off.

In the distance where the lights had gone, they heard explosions and screams, even as more explosions hit the last two ships, sending two more bolts of light in the direction the attack had come from. After two more distant explosions sounded, a moment of quiet fell and Atem called, "Mahad, choose a group to seal the far end of the Valley! Karim, take command here as we discussed! Set, are you ready to turn this place into Hell on Earth?"

"As ever," Set agreed. He then called, "Kaiser Seahorse!" His mount appeared, and he turned to look at Atem—whose expression frightened him in that moment.

"Gryphon Wing _s_!" the Prince called, and everyone watched in amazement as the named wings appeared attached to his back so he could fly. "Let's go, Set!" he called as he shot into the air, and Set quickly followed, wondering where _that_ had come from.

Then he remembered what Yuugi had said about stepping into the state which accessed one's soul, rather than thoughts and feelings. If Atem was in that state, he was seeing with far greater clarity than the rest of them at the moment—and the result was singularly impressive. As such, he quickly followed Atem, watching for more of the shots which had taken down the ships, only to see five distinct spots on the Valley floor where things had exploded and taken _several_ people around each into the Afterlife. In the meantime, he watched the Prince raise a hand.

"Swords of Sealing Light!" Atem intoned loudly, and glowing, white swords spread out over the battlefield, even as light shone and every weapon, every trap, everything which could be used against them, became visible. Including the natural traps and curses of the Valley of the Kings. It quickly became clear that no one could lift a hand against them, and Atem was examining the existing traps and curses.

"Atem, how long will this last?"

"Until we take three actions against them, or until I release it. I'm just giving Mahad time to get into place unhindered," the Prince replied, so the High Priest nodded and looked at the battlefield again.

He then smirked and asked, "Can I activate the quicksand trap they negated?"

Raising a brow, Atem agreed, "Use Cyclone. I'd like to see whatever they did to stop that one dissipate." The card in the English version had been named 'Mystical Space Typhoon', making him think Pegasus was one for dramatics. After all, 'Cyclone' was simple, quick, easy to remember, and just overall more practical of a name for a card which was used fairly frequently for all sorts of magic and trap removal. And why he was thinking about that now, he had no idea.

"Of course," Set agreed in amusement. "That way I don't have to guess the orientation of the power they used to seal it." He then held a hand forward and intoned, "Cyclone!"

Chaos erupted in the middle of the camp as the area which had been a sealed quicksand trap reverted to said quicksand trap. Whole sections of the soldiers vanished, screaming, into the quick drag of quicksand held still too long—and both Atem and Set were horrified to see that no one made any move to help the ones caught in the quicksand, not even the ones on the edges and within reach. They traded looks, and the Prince gave a feral grin.

"Looks like there's really nothing left to save of them. Well, then, no misgivings."

"None," agreed the High Priest.

"Then let's simplify things and take a few pages out of Yuugi's book," Atem offered, his grin still feral.

Set laughed out loud at that, then called, "Seiyaryu, come to me!"

"Call for Obelisk the Tormentor. It'll come to you—that's a fact," Atem threw in.

"One of the God-beasts?" Set stared as the dragon Seiyaryu appeared beside him.

"Yes, one of the God-beasts," the Prince replied dryly. "I'm going to test Yuugi's theory in saying I can use Fusion, too." He then intoned, "Summoned Skull, Red Eyes Black Dragon, come to me!" They both appeared, and he focussed everything he had on what he wanted as he called, "Fusion! Black Skull Dragon!"

As the Red Eyes and Summoned Skull fused, Set swallowed and reached into his power core for the strength to summon the God-beast, but there was a malicious grin on his face—if this worked, he was calling the most vicious God-beast. "Obelisk the Tormentor, come to me!"

And sure enough, just as Atem had said, Obelisk took form below them.

"Attack!" Atem and Set yelled at them together, and all three of the beasts set out to destroy the enemy. No one could do more than run currently, but the spell would wear off soon. Atem then paused to call, "Gaia the Fierce Knight, Curse of Dragon, come to me!" As soon as they appeared, he went on, "Fusion, emerge Gaia the Dragon Champion!" Again, as soon as it formed, he called to it, "Join the attack!"

Set eyed him for a moment as he saw the Swords of Sealing Light flickering. "How about we take another page from Yuugi's book and use Upheaval?"

"Us both? At once?" the Prince asked with a raised brow. At Set's even look, he smirked. "Oh, that'll be great, won't it? Let's go, then."

Both extended hands downward as they called together, "Upheaval!"

The land groaned, shuddered—and exploded. Lava poured up from underground, the land crumbled, sinking the sand entirely to leave behind broken rock, and water rushed in from some unknown source, spilling across the area, steaming and spitting where it came into contact with the lava. Obelisk was oblivious to the damage around it, and just kept adding more and more broken land to the destruction, and the others took to the air to throw or spit attacks at enemies below, enemies now able to run, to fight, to do them some damage.

Not that they did much...Until Atem and Set felt energy washing over the land and forcing it back to a quieter state.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

In Yuugi's room, Isis watched worriedly as Shada and Akhenaten sat to either side of the boy, both taking his hands to anchor themselves. "I will be the one to take the soul fragments and pass them to you—Anubis will have no direct contact with you," Shada told the man. "I would hope the same would be true of the other Gods. If Yuugi is there, he will be able to show you where each piece goes, or place it himself...And I do hope he is there."

"As do I," Akhenaten agreed quietly. "I may well _need_ him to be there to reach his soul room, considering my inability to read him. Regardless, I will make every attempt to reach it by the time you reach me with the first fragment."

Shada nodded and closed his eyes to slip into a trance as Akhenaten activated the power of his Eye to seek out Yuugi's mind and soul.

At first, nothing happened, and all the man could see was white, but then he saw something casting a shadow in the distance. Walking towards it, he found a wall, attached to a torn-off hall of a sort, and the wall had a door in it. The door was open a few inches, and he could hear someone crying inside the room, so went to the door and pushed it open a bit as he knocked on it lightly. Looking around the room, he could see the damage to the room clearly, and a child who resembled a younger Yuugi—which was saying something, given how young the boy looked normally—who sat on the floor, holding a damaged toy rabbit and crying over it.

"Child, crying won't fix this, will it?" he asked of the small boy, who looked up at him with such a sad, but adorable, expression that he almost fell over in a swoon. If that was what Yuugi had looked like as a child, it was safe to say he had been something of a doll to those who knew him. That in turn could have caused as much harm as good.

After rubbing his eyes and trying to stop crying, the boy said, "No. But I wasn't trying to. I thought I got rid of Usagi-kun..." He paused to hold up the damaged rabbit. "But then I found him a-a-again...with e-e-everything gone!"

Now the man was puzzled. "...Why did you try to get rid of it, and why are you so hurt by it now?"

The boy looked at the rabbit, then slowly dropped it to the floor as he said, "It was the last thing Daddy gave me before...before he changed...before he started hurting me..."

Holding his hand to his head as he felt a headache coming on, Akhenaten sighed, then looked up at the child again, who had gone despondent. "So you see it like a part of a man you want no contact with?" Slowly, the younger Yuugi nodded, so the man picked it up to examine it. He then looked at the boy and said, "But wouldn't you want to keep it just to show how strong you are, that you could overcome the things he did to you?"

Little Yuugi blinked up at him, slowly, sorting through what the man had said...Then reached out and took the rabbit back. He then dropped it and stood, but as he rose, his form grew up to be that of the Yuugi Akhenaten was used to seeing. The boy smiled and said, "Thank you. I got...a little too caught in those memories." He then paused and blinked again, and asked, "How did you get here, and why are you here, Priest Akhenaten?"

"You heal from mental trauma remarkably quickly," the Priest snorted. "I'm here because Shada and Anubis have found a way to track your soul fragments, but they need me here to take them, so I can give them to you."

"I see," Yuugi murmured thoughtfully. "And you could get in here because I was in here already?"

"Yes, so would be my best guess. Shada should be here with the first pieces soon."

"Okay. What's happening out there? I haven't felt Atem near me in awhile."

"They found the portal. It's active, so he took some people and went to destroy it. At the same time, the Palace and city fell under attack. The Pharaoh and our troops are holding them off so far, but we have no guarantee of how long he'll be able to manage. Anubis said our priority is you because we can't win this battle without you as it stands—now, we never intended to leave you, but needs a must, so you're getting healed a little sooner. That's all."

"...Tell me, has the Pharaoh ever actually summoned the God-beasts?" Yuugi asked quietly, shocking the man.

"...The Sky Dragon of Osiris. Who currently isn't coming to him."

"Oh, Hell," the boy sighed, closing his eyes. "That means Osiris is too attached to Atem now that the Gods gave him...That's why you need me, because the enemy can only be taken down by the God-beasts, and they're not currently obeying the Pharaoh."

"But they would obey you?" Akhenaten frowned.

Yuugi opened his eyes to look at the man. "Yes," he said simply.

"Why?"

"I'm Atem's other half."

A voice echoed through the damaged room, calling, " _Priest Akhenaten, are you there?_ " It was Shada, so Akhenaten turned towards it.

"Yes, I'm here! Send me a strand of energy so I can take the fragments!"

There was a pause, then a thin thread of energy descended into the room from a few feet over from the pair. The older man moved over and grasped it, sending a 'reply thread' back up it, then waiting with out-stretched hands. From the space above them, where the threads connected the two Priests, two glowing objects descended to land in Akhenaten's hands.

"I have them, Shada!" he called.

" _Good,_ " the other voice sighed in relief. " _I will bring you the next soon!_ " The presence vanished, leaving the threads behind.

The Priest turned to Yuugi and offered the glowing fragments to him. "Where do these go?"

Taking them in his hands gently, Yuugi gasped as they faded into his body and part of the vanished wall was restored, along with a few of the damaged objects in the room. He then blinked several times as he tried to clear the fireworks-like spots out of his eyes and adjust to feeling just that little bit more complete, that little bit less torn inside.

"It seems this will be easier than we thought on this end," Akhenaten said in some amusement. "But you truly were an adorable child—dangerously so."

There was a pause, then Yuugi was suddenly laughing whole-heartedly in mirth, even as the damaged edges of his room began glowing—and growing. When he stopped laughing, he saw the man staring at the repairs, so said, "Of course this side is easier." When Akhenaten looked back at him, the smiling boy said, "Because it's me, and I accept my soul as 'who' I am, not my thoughts or the things I've experienced."

Thoughtfully, the man looked back at the slowly-repairing walls.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

"The settled area is strongest at the portal," Set pointed out.

"That's our destination, then," Atem answered, flying in that direction, Set and Kaiser Seahorse right behind him.

They ignored the destruction below them to set their sights on the portal, seeing how there was a three-tiered block of stone—a large one—with a circular ring surrounded by a triangle on it. On each of the three tiers, lizard-people stood, hands extended towards the land, eight of the more obviously lizard-like beings on the bottom level, six of the more human-like ones on the second level, and four of the more human-like ones on the top level, where the portal was. Two of those top four actually faced the portal, and there was a glowing bubble around said portal, which glowed fiercely with a nearly black light.

"Huh...Eighteen lizards," the High Priest commented.

The Prince smirked. "Up for some sword-play?"

"You want to kill all of them with a sword?"

"No, of course not. Attacking them that way will draw them into traps—Magical Cylinders, for example. Trap Hole and Acid Trap Hole, for example."

Set snorted and said, "You are positively evil today, Your Highness."

"Not at all. They're reaping what they sowed," the Prince returned dryly.

"Did you even bring your sword?" the High Priest asked.

"Don't need it. Sword of Dark Destruction, come to my hand!" Atem called, and the slender, sharp, curved blade with a black and reddish sheen appeared in his hand.

With an impressed whistle, Set held his hand out and called, "Legendary Sword!" The sword he found himself carrying was a heavier broadsword which glowed white, and it suited him much better than the pure killing blade Atem had called.

At that moment, he realized the Prince had already shot down and landed on the middle tier of the portal, blade swinging and cutting down two of the enemy in one slash. One shot—something—at the Prince, only for Magical Cylinders to activate and shoot the thing back at the shooter, killing that one. Atem, now engaging two of the lizard-people, one of whom had come from the lower level with a sword, had left his back entirely open, where two more were coming from the other side.

"You are so high-maintenance, My Prince," Set muttered, then smirked and called, "Change of Heart!" He'd targeted the lizard nearest Atem of the two coming from behind, and that one stopped—then turned to attack the other of the two approaching from behind. That had been singularly effective, so he dove down into the clear space at the Prince's back, sword at the ready as he jumped off Kaiser Seahorse.

To the side, when two of the enemy from above tried to join the battle, they found themselves falling onto spikes in a trap hole, and Atem had killed the other two he'd been fighting. The one Set had taken control of killed a second opponent, but died at the same time, and Atem killed his most recent opponent while two more attacked the High Priest. At about that point, their Upheavals began affecting the region again, but somehow, the stand they were on stayed almost completely still.

When two more on the bottom level tried to jump at Atem, they fell into an Acid Trap Hole and began screaming in agony—and both the Prince and High Priest wrinkled their noses at that. At about the same time, Kaiser Seahorse launched itself at the last of the lizard-people on the bottom level and Set killed one of his two opponents.

Frankly, Set was actually somewhat frightened of the pure fury Atem fought with—it was more akin to a whirlwind of metal and death. It was impressive, and he could certainly respect the Prince's power, skill, and command ability—covet it, even—but that didn't stop it from being frightening up close. He truly hadn't known the full extent of Atem's skill, or the lengths he would go to when someone hurt his light. Oh, it was all so perfectly controlled, so targeted there were literally no wasted moves, and they had barely been able to scratch him (once on his arm and once on the opposite hip), but the control, the calm, made it all the more frightening. After all, Atem had single-handedly killed, with a sword, _five_ highly skilled and physically stronger enemies with nearly no damage.

Just as the High Priest was about to engage the last of his opponents, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, even as Kaiser Seahorse squealed in pain and vanished. Stumbling, he realized his summon had just been sent back to the spirit realm, leaving him with damage, and he could see the lizard's blade swinging at him...

Only for a huge, deadly light to flash in front of his eyes with a roar and crushing sound. Blinking the light spots out of his eyes, what he saw in front of him was a section of the platform torn off in a straight line, and everything in the path of the light vaporized. Turning to look to the side it had come from in shock, he saw Obelisk lifting its hand before turning back to the enemies on the ground around it.

"Well, _that_ was impressive," Atem's slightly panting voice came from behind him, sounding perfectly amused. "How are you after Kaiser...?"

"Fine," the High Priest answered, attention snapping back to Atem as he pushed himself up. A quick look around showed that the top level of the platform, where the portal and the last two lizards were, was relatively undamaged, only a few inches sheared off, while a deep gash crossed the ground where the two lower levels had been destroyed. He was recovered now, just a little tired, so it was true.

"You are so. Bloody. _Annoying_!" a voice snarled from above them, making both Prince and High Priest look up to see a man in pale clothes standing there, the other two lizards still maintaining the barrier around the portal. "And _how_ did you manage to recover from one of our blade wounds so quickly?"

Atem smirked. "Because that wasn't me, it was my younger brother. The little imp borrowed my horse to go for a ride, and _you_ made the battle _personal_."

The man's hands clenched and he took his lizard-like appearance, his glare leaving both younger males with the impression 'if looks could kill...' He then barked out a laugh and said, "Ah, I see. It really was chance, as he said. However, we can't let you destroy the portal."

That was where the battle turned hard, as a wave of energy surged off the man and every bit of debris within fifty yards of the man rose into the air in a swirling mass—then shot at Atem and Set. They couldn't defend, and they couldn't dodge—

"Negate Attack!" Atem roared, and the familiar discolored swirl lit the air, forcing the power to die and all the debris to hit the ground.

"Thank all the Gods you're a bloody tactical genius and nearly as powerful as Ra to boot, Your Highness..." the High Priest commented dryly.

On the other hand, the man above them seethed—then smirked. "So you're going to do it the hard way," he said as though talking about the weather. He then knelt and placed his hand flat on the platform—

And before they had a chance to stop him from doing anything, hands, legs, _bodies_ , skeletal and covered to varying degrees in flesh, began dragging themselves free of the ground all around the platform and turning to them.

"He's a necromancer..." the High Priest murmured sickly.


	20. 20-Battle End

Battle End

Akhenaten was looking around the boy's soul room in satisfaction as he saw how much of it had been restored, partly by Shada's returns with fragments of it, and partly by Yuugi's own strength of soul and will. They only needed a few more pieces now, and he was finding himself rather comfortable and welcomed in the room. It was a gentle, peaceful place, but it stirred in him guilt over the events in the past which had led to the formation of the Millennium Items.

"Akhenaten, maybe you should go see what's happening outside?" Yuugi offered suddenly from where he sat, waiting, by the threads. "I mean, as long as these threads stay here, Shada can pass the fragments to me, and now that they found the dumping ground for the majority of the torn soul fragments, it won't take long to finish."

"There's one flaw in your reasoning," the Vizier-Priest answered dryly. "Shada can't pass the fragments to you, regardless of the threads—to send them here, he has to surround them in his energy. My role is to dissipate that energy and give them to you. If the energy isn't dissipated, you won't be able to assimilate them."

"...Oh, so that's how it works," the boy commented dryly. "Okay, then. I guess we wait until we're done. I'm worried about the city, though...How much longer can they...?"

"We are all worried, Yuugi...Little Prince," the Priest admitted with a sigh. "But Anubis said to Shada in no uncertain terms that we _need_ you to survive this battle intact, and so, we must finish this task, and concern ourselves with the rest once we've finished."

After a pause, Yuugi nodded. "I understand." His gaze went to one of the still-damaged walls, where a patch was missing at about eye-level. "That one worries me..."

"What?" Akhenaten asked, following the boy's gaze.

"What I'll see in the picture which should be there," the boy clarified.

"...Why should that worry you? I would think it would be a fond memory there."

"...It updates depending on the state of my friendships and things."

"Again, why should that worry you?"

"...They wanted Atem back. I'm afraid my friendships with them...from my side, have faded or vanished."

"Is that how you currently feel?"

"I'm not sure. I...want to still be friends with them...and a few of them I think are still my friends, but others...I'm not so sure."

"Then restoring it is the best thing for you."

Chuckling, the boy nodded. "I know. I still worry about it."

" _Akhenaten, these are the last we were able to find!_ " Shada's voice came to them, making the two look at the threads as three glowing fragments descended.

"Withdraw, then!" Akhenaten called back, reaching up to grasp the three. They came easily into his hands.

" _Understood,_ " the Priest of Anubis answered, and his thread was withdrawn as Akhenaten's disconnected from it and floated back down to the man.

The older man then faced Yuugi with the last three pieces and held them out. The boy took them and closed his eyes as they faded into his body—and what was left of the damage in the room was repaired in a flowing sheet of energy. The picture showed on the wall, and Akhenaten went over to it, examining it closely as he saw many smiling faces and clothing smiles he didn't know. However, he also saw all the people Yuugi had met in Egypt in the image, and smiled in spite of himself to see his own face there as well.

It was also the first time he was seeing how Yuugi viewed Atem, and was surprised that the image of the Prince...was an image of a Pharaoh bearing the weight of the world against all odds. In a way, the younger of the pair idolized him, making him front and center in the image, but the sheer power and burden Atem carried...He now understood what he had never understood before. The two 'Princes' shared the burdens, seeing what burdens the other carried as part of their own, all to try to ease the other's burden, and they often succeeded in sharing it between them.

"Uncle Akhenaten, I think we should go now that my room's restored," Yuugi said in an amused tone.

"Of course, though your—" the man began as he turned to face the grinning boy, then stopped as he realized what Yuugi had just called him. "You imp," he said with a wry grin. "Little Prince, your image seems to be intact—and very full. I am honored to be one of those amongst it."

The boy blushed faintly, but not with shame, with joy. "Thank you. Let's go, then."

He went to his soul room's door, followed by Akhenaten, and as they stepped out, the man felt himself returning to his own body, hand reflexively clutching the smaller one in his. When the small hand squeezed back, he opened his eyes to find himself in the healing room next to Isis' chambers, hand holding Yuugi's as Shada and Isis watched with a combination of hope and worry. Yet, he knew the boy was waking, or he wouldn't have returned the pressure.

"Little Prince, wake up now," he called to the boy, and Yuugi's eyes opened slowly. "Feeling better, little nephew?"

With a sleepy smile, the boy replied, "Yes, much. Thank you, Uncle."

Shada and Isis gaped at the exchange, then the man let out a sigh. "I take it that means you spent the time bonding?"

"What _else_ would we do while waiting for you to return fragments to us?" the Vizier-Priest asked dryly.

Before they could go any further, Yuugi asked, "What's been happening with the attack on the city and Palace?"

"The healers have been healing troops who had been guarding the perimeter, but we've had surprisingly few deaths," Isis said quietly. "The mages and priests left behind by Atem's party have been anchoring a shield around the city and Palace, but it's nothing compared to Mirror Force. So far, the farmland has suffered damage, and we can only be grateful we'd already brought in most of the produce before the attack. The city wall hasn't been breached. However, the Pharaoh is reaching the end of his endurance, and when he does, the shield will collapse—and likely him with it."

Sitting up, the boy nodded and said, "I need a change of clothes and food, then we need to secure the city better. Is it day or night right now?"

"Approaching night. The enemy gains the advantage in darkness," Shada answered.

The boy looked up at him and said, "Then cast and hold a spell called 'Dark-Piercing Light'. Just like Set was able to use the other one I told you about, you should be able to use this one. Give us the light we need to keep as much advantage as we can. Also, once you've done that, use 'Enchanted Javelin' to help restore energy and health to the troops and the Pharaoh."

"But—" Akhenaten began.

"Uncle, I need your help, too. You're just as strong as Shada, so I need you to use 'Gravity Bind Level Two', and summon 'Labyrinth Wall' defensively. Labyrinth Wall is a spirit being, so you don't need a tablet to summon it, and placing it defensively will leave the enemy with only one exit, and it's one they'll have to find before they can attack us again. Do it now, just after Shada activates the ones I told him to use, and we'll get a reprieve. Once I've eaten, Isis can show me to the—to my father's side," Yuugi cut him off calmly, making the other three blink, then trade looks.

Finally, the Vizier-Priest nodded and said, "I understand. We shall do as you instruct. Hurry to Ahknemkhanen's side." At the boy's return nod, he took Shada's arm and led the surprised man out.

Yuugi then looked up at Isis and asked, "So...a change of clothes and food?"

"Yes, Little Prince," she answered wryly, leaving the room quickly.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

The bodies and skeletons—also joined by some mummies—were closing in around them when Atem threw his head back and _laughed_. It was neither false, nor forced, but a truly amused laugh. Before anyone could ask him why he was laughing, he stopped abruptly and lifted a hand in the air, calling, " _Raigeki_!"

Massive bolts of lightning shot out of a clear sky and swirled across the field of battle where the undead were, leaving nothing but smoldering bits laying around. The stench of burning flesh and cloth nearly made Set gag, but Atem merely lowered his hand and looked up at the man in front of the shielded portal, who was noticeably pale and staring at the Prince in horror.

"How did you do that?" the man asked almost breathlessly.

"Why do you think I would tell you?" the Prince asked in reply. He then lifted the sword he still held in his hand. "Shall we fight, then, ringleader?"

"I have no need to do such a thing," the man sneered, drawing a thing from his pocket—an object Atem could have sworn looked like a grenade, yet there was something odd about it, too. There was energy attached to it.

As he threw it, instinct caused Atem to call, "Cyclone!"

The smaller bolt of lighting struck the flying grenade, making it fizzle, then vanish into thin air.

Around them, a silence had fallen, but Atem was quickly losing patience. They needed to get the shield around the portal down so they could destroy it, but the two maintaining it were inside the shielded zone now. There had to be a way to bypass their shield, or to take it down. It wasn't actually made with 'magical energy', so didn't count as either magic or a trap, but could it somehow count as a monster?

Suddenly, a thought came to him and he gave a little chuckle, intoning, "Time Wizard, come to my side!" The time-monster appeared with a questioning sound, and Atem ordered, "Time Wizard, set time on the portal and barrier back to the time before the barrier was set!"

Time Wizard raised its staff as the man called down to him with a laugh, "It's impossible to set time so conveniently back to a point where you want it!"

"Normally," Atem agreed, watching in satisfaction as the shield and portal began flickering rapidly.

Suddenly, when the barrier fell and the two holding it cried out in shock, Set yelled, "Fairy Meteor Crush!", then jumped at the portal with his sword raised, body blazing.

"No!" all three lizards yelled, but it was too late.

The High Priest struck the portal ring—and the entire thing exploded into bits.

Now, with the Prince on one side and the High Priest on the other, the three began to worry, particularly since they now had no escape. Both younger humans shot at one each of the barrier-holders, killing them, then faced him. In an attempt to frighten them off, he sent off another wave of power which lifted the debris and targeted it on the two of them, but it was too late.

Two swords, one dark and one light, pierced his body and he fell into darkness, even as the battlefield fell still and silent, all enemies dead without escape.

"Finally..." Set breathed, panting from the effort and energy he'd used.

"I can agree with that sentiment. Great Gods...Now I know how Yuugi could so easily have overused his energy..." Atem answered tiredly, dismissing the sword in his hand and releasing the summoned beings from his control.

"...Yes, that's true," the High Priest replied dryly, releasing his spells and summons as well. "Atem..."

"Yes?"

"I hope I never have to see you so terrifying again."

The Prince laughed at the words and moved over to hug the other young man tightly. It was returned just as fiercely.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

When Yuugi first saw the Pharaoh, he saw exhaustion, but gratitude for the reprieve granted by the maze now filling the invaded lands outside the city. The man had taken a seat on the edge of the open room, gazing out at the city and stone labyrinth below in a contemplative way. Still, it was obvious there were injured still out in the area the battle had been taking place in, and Labyrinth Wall was currently the only summon in place.

"Isis, summon Mystical Elf, and grant her the extra power of 'Gift of the Mystical Elf' to heal everyone," Yuugi said to the woman, making the Pharaoh start and turn to face the pair.

"As you wish," Isis agreed readily, now that she could see the help Yuugi's orders had given them earlier. Even the Pharaoh didn't look as tired as he had. "Mystical Elf!"

"Yuugi," the man called out to the younger of his sons.

"I'm here," he agreed, joining the man and gazing out at the same view the Pharaoh had been focussed on before. "I'm glad that helped. But as we are right now, I need to make this quick, or we're going to run into a problem..."

Ahknemkhanen blinked and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I still have a limited amount of energy, so the one thing I do—it has to end this, otherwise I won't have the strength to keep fighting, either," the boy answered, meeting his eyes. "Even though Atem told me I shouldn't do it, I have to. I'm going to summon the Winged Dragon of Ra."

The Pharaoh's eyes widened, then he slowly nodded. "They no longer obey me. I can only hope Atem..."

"He can summon them, don't worry, Father," Yuugi answered with a smile, and the man smiled back, tiredly though it was. "And as for me, I'll be sent home soon, so I won't be in conflict with anyone. You're welcome to tell the people you were the one to summon Ra."

"That I will not do. Allow them to assume, yes, but claim credit for it, no."

"If you wish."

"The soldiers are as healed as they can be, Little Prince," Isis said, making both turn to her and the Mystical Elf.

"Good, thank you, both. Isis, get a message down to them telling them to make sure they're all under the shield," Yuugi replied with a smile.

"That is easily enough done," Isis nodded, then intoned, "Shining Abyss, come to my side!" The golden, hieroglyphic monster appeared, so she told it, "Carry a message in my voice to our allies outside the city shield. All Egyptian forces are to retreat within the shield for our final attack on the enemy to be launched, by the order of the Pharaoh and carried by Priestess Isis." She paused and nodded to the being, then said, "Take that message to them." It quickly flew down to the battlefield.

"Good," Yuugi smiled again at her. "That takes care of the preparations. Now they just need to be out of the way, so Ra doesn't have to hold back."

"Your tactical ability easily matches Atem's," the Pharaoh said wryly.

"Of course. It would have to be for me to even stand a chance of beating him," the boy answered with a laugh. Ahknemkhanen joined him in a chuckle, then fell serious again as he gazed intently at the boy beside him.

"Are you truly recovered from such damage, Yuugi?" the man asked quietly.

"Yes. Priest Shada and Uncle managed to find all the pieces and return them to me, so I'm fine, just a little tired," Yuugi answered.

After a few minutes had passed with them watching the field for the retreat of their soldiers, the battlefield was clear, so the boy straightened and held a hand forward as he focussed and intoned, "Winged Dragon of Ra, come before me, Gryphon Form active!"

Power throbbed and pulsed, and Yuugi blazed with light visible from the Valley of the Kings as a great, white being descended from the sky. It was huge and the light emerging from it dwarfed Shada's spell, making the region so bright even 'day' was no comparison. A shriek rose from the white-golden, bird-like form before it descended on the battlefield with such force the other spells and summons dissipated by force. Pure white flames shot in all directions, flowing like a wave of light over the enemy forces.

Then, suddenly, the light went out and everything was still and silent, the great golden-white beast gone. Within a minute, however, greenery bloomed and flourished across the whole battlefield where the white light had burnt away the enemy. Lush, green land right down to the Nile became visible as the light faded back to natural night, stars and the moon coming out in a black velvet sky.

It was over.

"By all the Gods..." the Pharaoh breathed. "I could never summon a being of such pure light, life, and growth...My soul is far too tainted..."

"Your 'soul' can't be tainted, Father," Yuugi said from beside him, making the man look up at him in surprise. "Your thoughts and feelings can be, but never your soul. If you allowed yourself forgiveness for your past crimes, Ra and the others would come to you, as well."

Slowly, the older man smiled and said, "Thank you, my son."

Isis watched the exchange with a sensation like she was missing a very, very large part of the picture, but a smile filled her features as she realized it was now truly over.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

Atem and Set tiredly trudged across the wasteland battlefield to join up with Karim.

"My Prince, High Priest!" Karim yelled, running down to meet them. "What happened? That—that—"

"It's all right," Atem told him, rubbing his eyes. "We're just tired. Can you spare a little healing energy?"

"Of course," Bastet's Priest agreed willingly, holding his hands over Atem's wounds to heal them. When he finished and dropped his hands, he said, "Between Mahad and myself, we kept them locked in the Valley, and it wasn't hard to pick them off with our soul summons. There were no survivors, unless someone out there is still alive."

"That I doubt," Set snorted.

"Your Highness!" Mahad called to them as he and his group ran up to them.

Suddenly, as the group was finally gathering again, the sky in the direction of the Palace lit up.

"What's that?" Karim asked in shocked horror while everyone stared.

As the huge, golden-white being descended from the sky, Atem felt ill. He said, "Someone just summoned the Winged Dragon of Ra—the battle there must have been a losing one. We have to get back!" He quickly focussed and called, "Ships Crossing to the Afterlife, we need your help to return to the Palace!"

The five amused ships appeared again, and everyone scrambled on board quickly so they could take off. Just like the first time, they rose into the air and sailed steadily and quickly in the direction the Prince had asked them to travel, even as they all watched the light fade and the sky return to night. From their vantage point, they had expected to see carnage and damage to the city directly—but that _wasn't_ what they saw.

Instead, the city was intact and there was a massive, growing plain leading right down to the Nile through several farmers' fields.

 _What?_

The ships dropped them off in the space between the Palace wall and the front doors to the Palace, where they jumped off and Atem thanked the ships. With his thanks, they quickly dissipated.

As they were about to head inside, the doors opened and Yuugi ran out happily, calling, "Atem!" Moments later, the smaller teen collided with the taller, both hugging the other tightly as they whispered verifications of health and safety to each other, as well as updating the other on the status and events of their battles.

A voice interrupted them with some amusement, saying, "May I assume you were successful in preventing further attack on your end?" Everyone looked up to see the Pharaoh as all the Guardian-Priests joined them.

"We were, Father," Atem agreed with a small, tired smile. He then looked down at Yuugi and said, "But I think when you go home, you'll have to find them and destroy the data they have on the portal so they can't create another from their end."

"That's something I had already guessed. It's good to have it confirmed. And Atem, I don't think I can stay here much longer, not if I'm going to be able to stop more from coming. There's no time...There can't be time...But I wish I could stay..." With those words, Yuugi buried his face in Atem's chest, shoulders shaking as he wept silently.

"...I'm sorry. I can't control the Egyptian Gods. But we'll meet again, Yuugi. You know we will one day," the Crown Prince whispered to his younger lookalike.

Yuugi nodded, then after a minute, shifted back and wiped off his cheeks. He then took a step back as the darkness from so long ago opened under his feet. "I'll stop them! Count on it!" he yelled as he was dragged through the God-made portal.


	21. 21-Present Challenge

Present Challenge

There was a long silence as everyone stared at the place where Yuugi had been, then several sighs. "It's over..." Akhenaten said quietly, feeling somehow bereft of something he couldn't place.

"Well, it had to end sometime..." Atem sighed sadly. "But we'll meet again, he and I, so at least I have that security..."

Set gripped Atem's shoulder and said, "But the Gods obviously don't intend for us to forget the little Prince, so you still have all of us, Atem. Forever."

The Pharaoh looked skyward and said, "He had such a profound impact on us in such a short time...As though he was always meant to be here with us..."

A snort from Atem made the others look at him in surprise. The Prince said, "He's like that everywhere he goes...He's just part of that place, it becomes home, even if it's a dangerous, isolated island, a deadly tower trap, or a welcoming, friendly city. That's why he's the light to my darkness."

"...Yes," Akhenaten agreed. "And the High Priest is correct in saying you have us all. We all understand your feelings of loss in this moment."

Clenching a fist, the Prince nodded. "And the rest, other than routing random lizard-people we come across, is in Yuugi's hands. That means we're safe now. Things will continue from here as they were meant to."

"Did anything change?" Set asked suddenly, feeling curious.

"Beside him getting us to actively be friends, no," Atem replied in a dry tone.

Everyone was surprised by Set's laugh, and even more surprised when he faced the Pharaoh and said, "I'm claiming the favor Yuugi asked for. You know what I mean by that."

Blinking, the man nodded slowly. "I do. Just be discreet."

"Agreed," the High Priest answered with a bow to the Pharaoh.

After a moment, Atem's eyes widened and he gasped, " _That's_ what the favor was?"

"That's right," Set agreed quite happily. "Now, we need a debriefing all around, then some rest. Shall we head inside to get the meals—or finish the meals—we weren't able to before?"

The rest of the people gathered there heartily agreed, still confused by the 'favor' the three of them were talking about, so everyone trooped inside.

Mana, left behind and unnoticed by the rest of them, took her own turn to look skyward and say, "Prince Yuugi may be the light, but Prince Atem...he's the warrior. Today, he's the one we need most." She smiled to herself. "As much as I'll miss Yuugi, I'll be fine as long as I have my first Prince. So will everyone else."

PA-HPS-YM-SK

For the second time in his life, Yuugi found himself hovering in darkness, surrounded by faint whispers—only to be suddenly dropped, and, like the last time, he landed on someone who fell to the ground with a yelp, Yuugi on top of them.

"Oh, great, not again..." the small boy groaned, then heard a 'humph' and looked up at who he'd landed on—only to see, "Kaiba-kun!" He then blushed and quickly jumped off the older, taller teen, quickly saying, "Sorry, I didn't mean to do that, I don't pick where I land, you see, and—"

"Shut up and tell me where the bloody Hell you came _from_ ," Seto Kaiba answered as he rose gracefully and motioned his bodyguards to stand down—they'd been about to attack Yuugi. "And where have you _been_ for the last few months? Wait, knowing how stupid you can be sometimes, ignore the 'shut up' part of the first order."

Now that he had a moment to look around, Yuugi could see they were in the lobby at Kaiba Corp., though it looked like only employees were there. It was bright, and modern, and Yuugi hadn't realized how much he missed it until he saw it again right then. But then he remembered his clothes and looked down at his Egyptian Prince's clothing, and looked up at the older teen in embarrassment. At the same time, he had to laugh about Kaiba relinquishing his own order for silence.

"Actually, can we go to your office, and can I get a change of clothes, please? I'll explain there, but I don't think you actually _want_ me to talk about it here," Yuugi answered, scratching the back of his head with one hand.

After a moment of silence, the young businessman gave a small sigh and said, "Fine, come on. Also, I would really rather not have you walk out of here dressed like that. This way." He turned to head for the elevator, and Yuugi followed him closely.

It didn't take long for them to reach the huge, penthouse office suite, which included a bedroom through one door, and only a few minutes later, Kaiba had called for some refreshments and a change of clothes for 'a slender boy of about five foot one.' In the meantime, the taller had motioned the smaller at one couch, so Yuugi readily curled up on one corner of it and waited patiently for Kaiba to finish what he was doing. The refreshments arrived quickly, so Yuugi began munching on the various foods on the platter, drinking his sparkling juice sparingly due to the bitter taste. Once the older and taller of the two was done, he sat on the couch across the coffee table from Yuugi.

"So?" Kaiba asked, leaning forward intently.

"I don't think you want all the details of what happened, so I'll keep it as short as I can, and tell you the most important parts," the smaller boy began, and got a nod and an intense gaze from the older teen. "So, I landed in Ancient Egypt, before Atem had become Pharaoh, because the Gods hadn't been able to see Egypt's path to our future anymore. There was just a gap, a fog, so they gave Atem his memories of his own future, and sent me there to help them. I sort of got adopted, though, and by the time I left, everyone had taken to calling me 'Little Prince'. Actually, I even...well, the Pharaoh was actually a better father to me than my own."

Yuugi paused there, then looked away. "But they were under attack. The people...I'm not sure they _were_ people, actually...They could look human, but they were actually some kind of humanoid lizard." As Seto scoffed, Yuugi told him, "I had one of their swords in my shoulder, Kaiba-kun. I _know_ who tried to turn me into a slave."

"...A slave?" the young businessman asked with a frown.

"Have you ever heard of the thirteen most powerful and wealthy families in the world?" Yuugi asked in return, and saw Kaiba's lips purse. "The one thing I don't have absolute proof of is that they are the ones who attacked the past, but they had all the other traits, and the wealth to have done what I saw. Armies of thousands, rocket launchers, an active portal into the past—and Kaiba-kun, we have to stop them. Now, before they can make another portal to travel back to Atem's time again."

Kaiba rose and stalked to his panoramic windows, standing in front of them with his hands resting on the ledge as he looked out over Domino City.

Silence hung heavy in the air, until Yuugi said, "Kaiba-kun, I know you don't like to believe in strange or magical things, but this is important...Our future will never exist if we don't stop them. They're strong, and we don't know how many troops they have here, only what we fought in the past. If they enslave the world in Atem's time, ours will never exist."

Rather than reply right away, Kaiba punched the window, putting a crack in it, he'd hit it with so much force. He then laid his hand over the crack and said, "So now, just like DOMA, you're forcing me to do the very things my adoptive father told me _not_ to...That if I saw or heard of certain information, I was to look the other way or I'd be dead in short order."

"Do you know what Priestess Isis found out back then?" Yuugi answered quietly. When the taller's shoulders shifted, the smaller teen went on, "They have no hearts, they can't love. Their only answer to everything is violence, and they view us as cattle to enslave. Their weapons tear the souls of humans so they can devour the energy produced by said soul—that's what they did to me, _ate half_ my soul, Kaiba-kun. They're both forsaken by all higher powers, but favored by at least one, preventing us from being able to actually See anything about them, like with Isis' and Ishizu's powers. On the other hand, they have no choice but to reap what they sow. If they sow death and discord, that's what they'll reap. The Gods won't help them if they go to others in war. Can you really leave people like that to their own devices, Kaiba-kun?"

"I don't think you understand, Yuugi," the taller teen said softly. "They're the thirteen most powerful families for a _reason_. We can't just walk into their homes and erase their data on portals, and we'd be lucky to survive an action like that in one's home before we'd be murdered in a convenient accident. I also don't know who and where they all are to be able to target them."

"Then find out, and get your people in place to kill them all at once," Yuugi answered, and the shocking words made Seto spin to face him with a truly concerned look in his eyes.

Right then, the office door opened and a man said, "Kaiba-san, I have the change of clothes you requested."

"Give it to Yuugi and leave," Kaiba answered harshly, spinning back to face the window.

"Yes, Sir," the man agreed, stepping into the room and offering the clothing to Yuugi.

The boy took it with a smile as he said, "Thank you!" The man in the black business suit was gone a moment later.

"Go change in the back room," the young businessman sighed. As soon as he heard the door close quietly behind the smaller teen, he turned back to his desk to pick up his phone and dial Ishizu's number.

She picked up with a sleepy, "Hello, who's calling?"

"Ishizu, Yuugi just told me to arrange to kill every living member of thirteen very wealthy families all at the same time," he told her without preamble.

She was silent for a moment, then said, "Then I suggest you do so."

A frown creased his face as he asked, "Why? Give me one good reason!"

On the other end of the call, Ishizu sighed and quietly said, "You know Yuugi better than anyone but Pharaoh Atem. Do you really believe he would tell you something so serious without a reason—a good one? However, if you wish something more concrete than that, I've been told the ones you were told to kill have had five thousand years or more to correct their errors—but they aren't. Too many souls are damaged, broken, torn, by those people, and they are doing everything in their power to torment and kill people who have done nothing to deserve it. Those who are cut off from love are cut off from salvation, and they have now become a danger which cannot be ignored. And Seto, that word comes from a being more powerful than the Egyptian Gods."

Yuugi came back into the room and tipped his head to the side curiously as he saw the phone in the older's hand. He was now dressed in blue jeans, a normal, black tank top, and a light-weight jacket in navy blue.

At the expression on Yuugi's face, Kaiba sighed deeply and said, "Very well. Do you have any other advice for me?"

"Tell as few people as you possibly can, because they have spies everywhere. I know of three of your employees who serve them—by virtue of my not being able to See them when I make the attempt. Their names are Mamoru Koga, Hiroto Togusa, and Akira Akiba. Make certain they do not discover your plans, and you should be well enough," Ishizu informed him.

"I see. I'll do that. Thank you, Ishizu," the businessman agreed, then hung up and looked back at a hopeful Yuugi. "First, I won't guarantee we'll get every single one of them, but I'll agree to help you kill the ones I can find and erase the data and technology they have concerning portals and hidden labs and such. The only benefit I have is that Ishizu could tell me who in my own company was working for them. What role are you going to play?"

"Wherever the portal is—I'll destroy it. Their one weakness is Ancient Egyptian magic—always has been, and probably always will be," Yuugi answered. "Otherwise, unless you want me to do something to help you, I'll stay out of your way. I know not to bother you when you're working, Kaiba-kun." He then paused and gave a sweet smile as he said, "Thank you for agreeing to help me."

"You owe me a public rematch in exchange," Kaiba bit out, expressing irritation.

"Of course!" the smaller boy agreed happily—after all, a rematch, public or otherwise, was a small price to pay for having Seto Kaiba's help with such a huge operation. "Thank you for the clothes as well. Do you want them back after I get home?"

Sitting in his desk chair, the President of Kaiba Corp. answered, "Until this is done, you're not going home. I can't guarantee our survival—would you really want to go home and get all sappy, just to wind up dead a few days later?"

"...Oh. Okay," Yuugi agreed quietly. He gave a small nod and said, "I guess you're right on that. Where do you want me to stay, then?"

"With me. I'm going to do everything I can to find the one who made the portal so we can go there personally, and my guys can take care of the rest. That way, we kill two birds with one stone—you get the portal, I erase their data, and we do the least amount of legwork in the shortest time. I suggest you go rest in the bedroom while I get things moving, since our only advantage is going to be the surprise and suddenness of it." Kaiba paused there for a moment, then added, "And don't hog the bed!"

Yuugi actually giggled at the taller's glare, and turned towards the room as he said, "I won't!" Before Kaiba could reply, Yuugi had closed the door behind himself.

Privately in the room, the boy wiped away tears as he wondered if there was any chance he could be more than a not-quite-friend to Kaiba, never mind have a relationship like Atem had with Set. The thought of Atem combined with the path his thoughts were already on caused him to break down in sobs. Not only was he missing his yami, his darkness, again, but he had no one but himself to lean on, even just for a few minutes—he knew Seto Kaiba wouldn't let him lean on his shoulder to cry. Oddly enough, things like 'crying' had been treated a great deal less harshly in the past than they were in the present, and Yuugi now had nowhere to turn.

Between the two, he wept himself to sleep.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

Several hours later, a tired and somewhat frustrated Seto Kaiba walked into the bedroom with the intent to sleep—only to stop and stare as he caught sight of Yuugi still fully dressed, on top of the covers and slumped over as though he'd fallen asleep sitting up. A closer look at the boy's face showed he'd been crying, causing Kaiba to hold a hand tiredly to his eyes for a minute. Going over to Yuugi, he pulled off the jacket and shoes, then lifted his legs to lay them on the bed, shifting the teen to lay flat on his back in the process.

Done with that, the young businessman shed his own jacket and shoes, then climbed into the other side of the bed. Finding the double layer of blankets too hot, he sighed and pulled the top one off his side of the bed, throwing it over Yuugi, instead, then settling down again. The temperature that time was right, so he fell asleep quickly.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

In the morning, Yuugi woke first, having gotten used to the rather strict, and early, schedule of a Prince. Though, he thought the schedule was so early in Egypt because of the heat. Either way, it gave him time to realize Kaiba had taken his jacket and shoes off, put him fully on the bed, and thrown a blanket over him. It made him smile, since someone who didn't care at all wouldn't have bothered—it was his one hope that Seto Kaiba could at least be his friend, truly. The older teen may have hidden it behind a lot of bluster, but small things like what he'd done last night showed there was a chance, because he _could_ care.

Sitting up made the other teen groan and roll over partway to say, "Don't you dare move any further, or I won't be able to sleep any longer."

With a little chuckle, Yuugi asked, "Is that an invitation to stay in bed with you, Kaiba-kun?"

The young businessman groaned again and turned back to face away from Yuugi, saying tiredly, "Just shut it and stay still. I'm too light of a sleeper."

So Yuugi laid back down and just stared at the ceiling above him. Soon after, Seto had dropped back into sleep, and Yuugi was fully left to his own thoughts again. _Was_ there anything he could do to help out, also to keep as few people as possible from knowing what they were doing?

It suddenly occurred to him that servants and maids were never actually acknowledged by their bosses, so the boss might say something in front of them which could get passed on unintentionally. There were a lot of things Yuugi could do himself, like making tea and snacks, so the people Kaiba paid to bring him those things wouldn't have to for the next little while. It would be safer than just letting them walk in and overhear things. Not that Yuugi thought they would willfully try to get their boss killed, but they may accidentally say the wrong thing to the wrong person.

Tapping his chin a bit, the boy contemplated why he'd go that far for Kaiba, even under the circumstances. Was it all just safety? He wasn't entirely sure, but he also wanted to be able to do something to help. And why? Probably because he was still wholly infatuated with one nasty piece of work, Seto Kaiba.

When he heaved a sigh, he heard the object of his thoughts say sleepily, "I'm surprised I fell back asleep. Now quit sighing—your boredom ends now."

Yuugi laughed and said, "That wasn't the reason for the sigh, Kaiba-kun. I was just pondering how much of an idiot I am when it comes to romance. I always seem to pick the people who wouldn't touch me with a ten-foot-pole."

The taller teen was silent as he sat up and grabbed his shoes, but then said, "Your luck can't be worse than mine, since I don't even know what counts as romance and what doesn't."

"Well, that's not exactly your fault, either," Yuugi answered a bit sadly.

With that, Kaiba rose and said, "Well, either way, I called my tailor, who will come and make us a few changes of clothes each, and I've locked Mokuba and all your annoying friends out of Kaiba Corp. Actually, I pretty much locked it all down, other than the group working on a secret project due in two weeks and the security guards I'm going to send on that mission of yours. Everything else is at a stand-still here for the next few weeks, the excuse being the special project. Other than the tailor, only designated people can leave or enter, and she's a one-off, not someone coming in repeatedly. So, we have our cover and the ability to work without a ton of people being in and out all the time. My only complaint is no longer having someone else bring me things when I need or want them."

"I could do that. You need to work on finding what we need to find, so unless you really, really want a break, just ask me to get whatever you need," Yuugi offered.

Seto Kaiba, already at the door, stopped with his hand on the knob, then turned back to Yuugi and said, "You're offering to be my servant."

"Short-term because we can't have outsiders overhear things. It's for the convenience of the situation—like you like to say all the time," the smaller teen shrugged, sitting up. "Just don't go overboard, or I'll bite you back."

"So you'll bring me graph paper, but not tea?" Kaiba asked with a raised brow.

"No, I'll bring you tea, too, but not if you ask me every five minutes to fetch you something else, or something inconsequential. Yes, we both need drinks and food, but we don't need it twenty-four-seven."

"Point taken. I accept. You might want to look around when the tailor leaves to see where things are kept—the kitchen and storage and supply rooms. That way, you have a better idea where to go when I need something. For this morning, we'll go to the cafeteria to eat breakfast, though."

Yuugi quickly pulled on his jacket and shoes, then followed Kaiba from the room, out of the office, and down to where the cafeteria was. They sat down and ate, along with some other employees, who paid them no mind, and went back up to the office, arriving at just about the same time as the tailor the taller teen had called for. He told her quickly what he wanted from her and she set to work, finishing only an hour later, then leaving.

While Kaiba sat down at his desk to get back to work, Yuugi left again to wander around and see what he could find. It didn't take him long to find most of the storage and supply rooms, and he also found the kitchen the servants prepared food especially for Kaiba in. After searching the cupboards, drawers, and fridge, Yuugi gave a wry grin and made a tea he was pretty sure Kaiba had never tried before.

Returning to the office with it, he let the other teen try it—and grinned as Kaiba asked him what kind of tea it was. Yuugi said it was his secret, and the young businessman pouted, but willingly kept drinking it while he worked. In the meantime, Yuugi sprawled on the couch so he was out of the way unless needed.


	22. 22-Other Side Destroyed

Other Side Destroyed

A little over a week had passed since Yuugi had returned to his own time and requested Kaiba's help with taking care of the threat to Atem's kingdom. In that time, Kaiba had been working almost non-stop while Yuugi got him things when he needed and otherwise kept out of his way. They had been sleeping in the same bed for the whole week, and the taller's irritable nature towards Yuugi had become nearly non-existent in his irritation at his search and preparations.

Finally, he sat back from his computer around midday and said, "Well, that's as much as I can do, but we'll probably have to do this again sometime." He printed some sheets, then turned all the power off in the room except the lights.

"What are you doing, Kaiba-kun?" Yuugi asked curiously as the older teen sat across from him.

"Making sure I can't be tracked back here," the young businessman replied dryly. "It took me so long because by the end of my first day, they were actively trying to track me, so I had to mislead them." He paused and sorted through the sheets he had printed. "Now, this gets complicated, because these guys lost their ability to reproduce within themselves and have been using humans as breeders for well over a thousand years, which means their 'people' have been born and raised in existing human families. There are a lot of extremely wealthy people, even nobility around the world, who need to be killed because of this."

"And you have a plan?" the smaller teen asked curiously.

"I do, but I'm not giving out the details. Suffice it to say that I'm going to be aiming to take down the most prominent of them and destroy most of their homes and belongings at the same time. What I expect will happen is that current upper-middle class and upper class members of their race will try to pick up where they left off, and when enough of them have made their moves to do so, I'll have to repeat this—extermination. In short, repeat until they quit trying. I don't expect that the middle class members of their race will even make an attempt, since as far as I can tell, they _have_ regained their hearts and are no real threat—it's the upper-middle and upper who worry me."

"Okay. And for us?"

"Our target is in Holland, where I managed to track several properties—one in particular is some sort of facility rather than a home. The main floors are a technology production and sales business, but there are also sealed areas, one of which a reporter said led to a basement. It was called 'storage' in official sources, but their internal cameras don't show the same usage as a 'storage room' would get. As such, that's the one we're going to. Also, you and I are the only ones going there, and each of my guys being sent out will know only that they were sent on a mission, not that anyone else was. I'm the only one who will know everything, and I'm going to erase all my data other than a tracer I need to keep active once we're through. I've already erased the data on my computer to the point where someone would have to come into my office and use it personally to retrieve the data—I'll finish destroying it later. We're going to have to all be dressed alike in clothing which shows nothing of our features."

"I understand. Masks and fully-covering tops, pants, and gloves. I assume you have a specific color in mind?"

"Shades of gray from a medium-dark to nearly black, but no black and nothing too pale. A mistake nearly everyone makes in trying to spy is in wearing straight black, but that makes you _visible_ in a shadow—shadows are shades of gray, not black. For us, the shading will also make it that much harder to pick out features. The only thing they'll be able to tell is that we're male, but they can't just go around slaughtering every living man in the world, so they won't have enough to go on."

"You have clothing like that laying around?" At Kaiba's smirk, Yuugi gave a wry grin. "I shouldn't have bothered to ask, right?"

"Probably not," Kaiba agreed. He then rose. "I'm going to go hand out the assignments to my guys, then I'll be back. We're leaving after sunset on one of my new, small planes. It travels fast, and can't be detected by technology—it was meant for Mokuba and I to go away for vacation without anyone tracking us. Now, it means they'll have a Hell of a time getting a visual of us at night, and can't find us any other way. In the closet in the bedroom, you should find some changes of gray clothes—pick the ones which will fit you best. Don't change into them until we're going to leave, though, since we don't want to be seen walking around here in them." He was gone a moment later the door shutting and locking behind him.

With a sigh, Yuugi rose and went to the room, opening the closet to have a look at what was there. He found about five complete outfits in gray as well as some of Kaiba's clothes—Yuugi had put his in the dresser at the other teen's insistence. "Well, at least he's prepared..." he chuckled as he checked the sizes of the smallest three gray outfits.

The clothes were varying shades of grays in no particular pattern or style, like someone had done a very poor dying job of something which should have been any one of the shades. They were also well-made and sturdy, but that could just have been Kaiba's insistence on quality. Of the three he looked at, he quickly realized he'd have to mix-and-match them, taking the top from one, the pants from another, and a scarf from the third, which would make sure his neck was covered, despite the high neckline of the shirt. It wasn't a turtleneck, so the scarf would be needed. All that was left was the mask, gloves, and boots, but Yuugi thought Kaiba would bring those back to the office with him for the smaller teen.

Clothing tested and chosen, Yuugi went down to the kitchen for some juice and snacks—they'd had lunch about an hour ago, so they didn't need to have a full meal at that point. He was back and enjoying the food and drinks when Kaiba returned and joined him to drain his glass. The smaller boy poured another for the young businessman while the older teen began snacking as well.

"Done?" Yuugi asked the brown haired teen who had sprawled across the other couch after eating two of the biscuits Yuugi had brought with the snacks. A hum was his answer, so he asked, "Is there anything in particular I need to know before we go?"

"I'm relying on you to destroy the portal and the building once I'm done, but try to stay out of any fighting if you can avoid it. Unless there's too many of them, and the portal may well be guarded."

"I'd be expecting it to be, unless everyone who knew about it came through the portal to Atem's time and is now dead."

"No. Most _did_ go to the basement and never came back up, but there are at least ten, including the family head, who went down and came back up later the same day."

"I see. Then you should know the lizards have tougher skin and more physical strength than we do, and they have some kind of power which isn't actually like Egyptian magic, but...I guess I'd call it psychic power by what Atem told me. The leader on his side of the portal was telekinetic and a necromancer."

Seto Kaiba snorted into the arm he'd thrown over his eyes while Yuugi talked. "It figures it would get harder. Are they so tough a blade can't cut them?"

"A blade can, just don't get hit by their blades if you can avoid it. A quick slice shouldn't do harm, but prolonged contact...That's where it tears your soul. They're able to be killed in all the same ways we are, but I don't think you could kill them with a fencing sword—you'd need something sturdier. I mean...Atem managed to kill five of them with his sword, so..."

"Can be done, but not by someone who hasn't got a clue how to fight," Kaiba completed the hanging sentence.

"Yeah," the younger teen agreed.

"Any weapons you can use?"

"A bow. Probably a gun. Otherwise, I'm no good with physical weapons or fighting."

Yuugi was surprised to see a purely amused, small smile, on Seto's face before the taller teen said, "I'll make sure you have a few guns to be safe, then, and this is just a whim, but a tiny spy dagger, meant to be hidden in your boot or sleeve to kill someone at close range who has grabbed you. You don't need skill for that, just to grab it and stab the point into the nearest part of their body."

"...Great. Make it poisoned and with a sheath and it'll do me good," Yuugi chuckled.

Kaiba suddenly sat up to stare at him in surprise for a minute, then gave a malicious smirk and said, "Now _there's_ an idea. Wait here while I get some things ready."

He sprinted from the room as the smaller teen gaped at him in surprise.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

That night, in the virtually silent, small jet, Yuugi glanced at the other teen's covered face through his reflective goggles, mind still boggled by what Kaiba had brought back to the room just before Yuugi got back with the evening meal. Now, he wore the full outfit, and had a rifle across his back, and two different styles of hand-gun at his waist (all three with silencers on them), along with the dagger hidden in his sleeve. Kaiba had used the time between supper and their departure time teaching him how to flick his wrist and arm to make the dagger shoot into his hand for use. The older, similarly covered teen practically prickled with weapons of all sorts, from dirks and stars to daggers and swords to guns. His guns also had silencers on them—the _last_ thing they wanted to do was make a bunch of noise.

They were now in Holland and almost to the 'shop' they needed to raid and destroy before morning—which was closer in Holland than Japan. Within minutes, they were landing on the building and Kaiba said softly before opening the hatch, "Remember, no talking once we're in there—no noise at all if you can help it—and stay close to me. Let me get us to our destination."

"Got it," Yuugi agreed, and Kaiba opened the hatch so they could slip out.

It took almost no time for the taller teen to get the door onto the roof open, and he led the way down into the building, where he paused at the first electrical outlet to plug in a tablet which he then used to shut down the cameras and the security systems in the building proper. The basement levels would be another story, but the main floors they could bypass easily enough now. He then unplugged his tablet and headed further into the building, Yuugi following a couple feet behind him, a silent shadow.

At the basement door, Kaiba stopped again and just looked at it for a minute, then drew a card from a different pocket and let the door scan it. When the door opened for them, his senses were on high alert to something not being quite right—he'd figured they'd have to blow the door off its hinges or something more forceful. As such, he gave Yuugi an upward motion with two fingers, indicating he be ready for trouble, and the smaller teen drew the rifle off his back, readying it for use. Kaiba carefully began making his way down the stairs, Yuugi stepping lightly behind him.

In the room below, they saw what looked like a storage room with a door between two shelves on the far side of the room. It said 'Boiler Room' on it in Dutch, and Kaiba led the way to it, motioning the smaller teen to stay back at the stairs. He carefully placed himself next to the door, rather than in front of it, and made sure Yuugi was across the room from him and the door. As he turned the knob, the door exploded out from under his hand, knocking him down with a grunt as something landed on him, something lizard-like—

And it collapsed on him as a bullet pierced its skull. Kaiba's eyes went to Yuugi to see him taking aim again with the rifle as something hissed near him, then a heavy form fell to the floor nearby and everything went quiet.

While he tried to push the body off him, Yuugi moved over to help pull it off, and Kaiba rose to examine the two bodies. They were just as lizard-like as Yuugi had described to him, so he gave something like a sigh and headed into the now-doorless room, wondering what they'd find in it.

As much as there was a boiler, there was also an elevator, so he went to it to begin working on getting it open. Shortly thereafter, he pulled out his tablet again and connected it to the elevator controls, using it to hack them. It took nearly ten minutes to get the elevator to cooperate, but when it finally did, he unplugged his tablet and motioned Yuugi into the elevator with him. They both got in and waited with weapons ready as it descended, Yuugi to the wall on one side of the door and Kaiba to the wall on the other, both with rifles.

As the doors opened, there was a pause and silence, but a quick look from Kaiba caused a gunshot to ring out, clipping the elevator door as the taller teen pulled back. A grenade landed a moment later, and Yuugi instinctively whispered, "Cyclone." The grenade fizzled and vanished, causing a silence to fall again.

Kaiba drew a handfull of small, gray balls from a pouch on his belt and threw them into the room, where they exploded and filled the room with smoke. Hissing came from inside the smoke, and both Kaiba and Yuugi slipped out of the elevator and along the walls to the corners of the room, shooting in the direction of the hissing as they went. After three shots from Yuugi and four from Kaiba, the noise stopped, and they kept creeping along the walls.

On Yuugi's part, he found himself rather suddenly between a shelf and the wall, with only about half a foot to move around in, so returned the rifle to his back and drew one of the hand-guns instead. Creeping through that space kept him hidden as the smoke began dissipating, and a quick look as one lizard shrieked in rage showed him their current situation and gave him a good look around.

The shrieking lizard jumped at Kaiba, who met it with a katana in his hands, and there were three other lizards focussed on them as they crept closer to the battle. Three lay dead on the floor, having been hit by bullets before, and one lizard was standing in an open path leading between the room they were in and another beyond it. Yuugi guessed their destination was the one where the single lizard was standing guard, so Yuugi shot at him, first.

No one noticed him fall, except maybe Kaiba.

However, when Yuugi shot one of the three trying to creep up on Kaiba's battle with the martially-skilled lizard he fought, the other two spun in his direction and charged the shelves. Since there wasn't anywhere else he could be hiding, Yuugi knew it had been a risk, but he'd had to take it. Also, they were so close together...

"Trap Hole, activate," he whispered, and both shrieked in surprise, then agony, as a hole appeared in the floor below them. Silent stillness came from the hole as Kaiba and the other lizard kept fighting, the lizard without even showing he'd seen or heard the fate of his companions.

Since the young businessman-turned-spy-assassin was occupied, Yuugi slipped from behind the shelves and along the wall to the path where the single guard lay dead, peeking cautiously around the corner. It led to a short hall where there was an emergency seal—currently inactive—and to a much larger room beyond. In the middle of the larger room was a circular object with a triangle around it, and it looked a little blackened around the inner edges. There were also five more lizard-people standing around it and facing the path into the room. He wasn't willing to bet those five were the only ones there.

Finally, there was a shriek from Kaiba's opponent as the lizard fell and the teen sheathed his sword. Yuugi motioned him over, indicating a circle for the portal, five with his hand, and a diagonal line to say he didn't know if there were more, but use caution. Kaiba nodded, moving to the wall to his side of the path and glancing around it. Both shot into the room and killed two of the lizards, but when none of the others so much as glanced at the fallen, Kaiba lifted his shoulders in a shrug. There was nothing left, he was saying, nothing to spare.

At that moment, they both found themselves dragged into the room by some unknown force and dumped unceremoniously on the floor in front of the three lizards by the portal. A quick look around showed a lizard off to one side of the room, by one of the series of computer panels and screens occupying wall space in the room, but other than a few chairs, there were no other objects or people in the room. That, at least, was some comfort.

One said something to them in a language Yuugi didn't know, and Kaiba didn't respond to, but the smaller teen was pretty sure it was Dutch or German, and Kaiba knew both. Something tried to tug their masks off, so Yuugi focussed on his magic lessons with Set to hold their clothing in place. It counteracted whatever the lizards were doing, making them hiss in anger and jump at the two—only for Kaiba to intercept the ones heading for Yuugi, ignoring the one who had tried to attack him.

Taking the chance, the smaller boy darted for the portal—only for a strong arm to catch him around the neck in a stranglehold as he was pulled against a much larger, stronger body. Struggling resulted in a tightening of the arm, so he flicked his small, poisoned dagger into his hand and slammed it back to strike his captor's hip. He was released with a growl, even as he returned the blade to its sheath, and quickly ducked and rolled away from the one who had come up behind him.

A glance showed a man who had come up from behind them, who was in human form, and the lizard who had been by the computers now heading for him while Kaiba killed one of the first three, but still had two to fight. That left Yuugi to his own devices, so decided to summon, calling in a bare whisper, "Summoned Skull, come to me!"

The two heading for him jumped back as the fiend appeared standing over him, staring in horror as their skin paled. A moment later, lightning lashed around the room, striking Yuugi's two attackers first, then the two attacking Kaiba, all of it originating from Summoned Skull. The four screamed and collapsed, so Yuugi tugged the Skull down close enough to his lips to whisper, "I'll give you the Ax of Despair—destroy that circle and triangle." At a nod from the Skull, he whispered, "Ax of Despair, equip to Summoned Skull!"

As soon as the ax was in its hand, it jumped at the portal to hack at it and had thoroughly destroyed it in short order, leaving no bits bigger than Yuugi's fist. Meanwhile, seeing the portal being destroyed, Kaiba went to the computers to work on them, finding the data, and its locations, which he needed to find. Thankfully, it hadn't gone anywhere useful, other than in a hard drive form, and he expected those to be destroyed by his agents across the countryside. Still, he knew not to get lax, so kept working.

Behind him, Yuugi stood in front of the destroyed portal while Summoned Skull returned to the Shadow Realm—only for the portal debris to rise in the air and try to pelt Yuugi. A Negate Attack, which created a swirl of energy in the air and dropped the debris to the ground, prevented Yuugi from being harmed, but the smaller teen turned to see what had happened, letting Kaiba keep working by setting Waboku to shield him if needed. He hoped the priest-spirits who prevented attack damage wouldn't be needed.

Some feet away, the man who had come up behind him and been stabbed for his troubles had started to push himself up as he began yelling angrily, and the whole room began trembling. Yuugi just watched him and waited, even as he was knocked over by the shaking which became increasingly powerful. The ceiling, floor, and walls began cracking and breaking off, and in a few places, ceiling panels fell to reveal pipes and wires, then stone. Kaiba kept working, hoping Yuugi knew what he was doing by not reacting to the shaking, and finally exhausted all options for where the data could be.

Suddenly, the land gave one last pull, then the lizard collapsed, dead, and everything went still and silent.

Looking over at the taller teen, Yuugi saw Kaiba give him the all-clear motion, so he whispered, "Self-Destruct Button." He then called Kuribo and whispered, "Wait ten minutes, then hit that button and get back to the spirit realm—I don't want you blown up with the rest of the room, little friend." Kuribo nodded seriously, so Yuugi left him to the button and turned to Kaiba.

The taller teen led the way back to the elevator, where he caught one more lizard off-guard and killed him, this time with a short-sword and much faster than the last one. Then again, he'd caught him from behind, much like the Shadow Guards had caught the last two of Yuugi's attackers back in Ancient Egypt. From there, getting back up to the main building, then to the roof and the plane, was easy and unhindered, so they got in and headed away, taking a roundabout route to Japan.

Actually, they were taking the plane to Egypt, of all places, where he'd told Ishizu to meet them for the day before they went back to Japan. While in the plane, Yuugi changed his clothes to normal clothes in the small back section, and Kaiba set the plane on auto-pilot to also quickly change back to his normal attire. When he came back to his seat a few minutes later, he was smirking from having sent their gear to the planet in a burning canister—which would currently land in the ocean.

During most of the flight, they didn't talk, just contemplated what they'd just done as success reports came back to Kaiba from all over the world.

"So, do you still have any reports to get back from your men?" Yuugi asked after over an hour of reports coming in while Kaiba's smirk grew.

"Three, I believe," the older teen replied.

"And the verdict?"

"All successes. A few may have survived, but it's highly unlikely, and their homes are definitely all destroyed."

Yuugi breathed a sigh of relief. "In that case, we can't do any more until some of their replacements start trying to take back the power of the ones we just killed, yes?"

"Stage one is complete, yes. Or will be as soon as I get visuals and the news starts telling everyone about the deaths and destruction. Unfortunately, it will be many years—probably a few decades—before we'll be able to enact stage two. Though, this gives us time to prepare for it, at least."

"It does. Thank you."


	23. Epilogue-an End and a Beginning

Epilogue—an End and a Beginning

Atem was walking through light and shadows towards his friends and family from Egypt, while he'd been the Prince and the Pharaoh, hoping Yuugi would be all right without him. He supposed it was absurd to worry when he knew his light would be fine—Yuugi's visit to Egypt had shown him that much—but he also had no idea what the outcome of the battle with the lizards in the future would be. All he could do was have faith, and there was someone he really wanted to see again after having spent so much time with Seto Kaiba.

Finally, he crossed a barrier of some sort and found himself standing in the gate to the Palace, looking towards the front doors. The doors were open and someone walked out, someone he knew right away by the color of his robes, even at that distance.

"Set!" he yelled, running in his direction.

The other kept walking towards him, and sure enough, it was Set. The High Priest raised his arms to catch Atem as the young Pharaoh threw himself into the taller's arms to hug him. "I'm glad you've finally made it here. It's been a long wait, My Prince," Set told him, hugging the smaller teen just as fiercely as Atem hugged him.

"I know...I know..." the smaller teen answered, tears of joy and relief leaking from his eyes. "So long..." He then pushed back and asked dryly, "Why are you calling me your Prince? I was Pharaoh when I died."

"Yes, but your father's been here with us all along, so...You're the Prince again," Set replied in amusement. "Now all we need is to wait for Yuugi so we have the whole Royal Family back together again. In the meantime, having you back is like a breath of fresh air. Everyone wants to greet you back—but I convinced them to wait until tomorrow." He paused and leaned close to Atem's ear to say softly, "I claim you first, My Love."

"Yes..." whispered Atem as pleasant chills ran up and down his back at the heated tone Set had used. "We have a bond to re-affirm. Your chambers, High Priest?" His voice was teasing as he asked, even as he pressed himself to the taller young man.

Before he quite realized it, he was being picked up and carried in both arms by Set, who headed quickly for his chambers in the Temple of Ra.

As they reached the door to the familiar room, Atem whispered, "Even after all this time, I love you, Set."

"And I love you as well, Atem," Set replied in an equally heart-felt voice.

It didn't take them long to find themselves lost in each other and in intense pleasure neither had felt for five thousand years.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

When they got to Egypt, it was morning, and Yuugi and Kaiba got off the plane nearly right outside the entrance to the Tombkeepers' underground residence. They spent the day with Ishizu, Rishid, and Marik, then took some time in the cooler evening to look around the surrounding desert. Really, though, there wasn't much there, as the nearest above-ground human residences were small villages or mere hamlets, and there were only five within walking distance. They visited two villages and ate at one of them.

During that whole time, Kaiba had seemed distracted and oddly contemplative, and he kept eying the younger teen with a puzzled and speculative expression Yuugi didn't know what to make of. He didn't know the taller's thoughts, but it was obvious he was in them quite frequently at the moment, for better or for worse.

As they were heading back in the direction of the plane Kaiba a few steps ahead of him, Yuugi said, "Hey, Kaiba-kun, thanks again for doing so much for me."

There was a silence, then the older teen said, "Seto."

"What?" Yuugi blinked in surprise.

"Call me Seto," the taller of the pair reiterated.

"...Are you sure?" the smaller asked hopefully.

Before he realized quite what was happening, the taller had spun, stalked back to him, seized him forcefully, and kissed him deeply.

It took Yuugi a minute to realize he was being kissed, and by _the_ Seto Kaiba, his long-standing crush, before he moaned and kissed back, letting the older teen have control. It was like fire and electricity and waves of pleasure—if this had been what Set and Atem felt when they were together, it was no wonder they had gotten wrapped up in each other so quickly. This wasn't like just any kiss, it was something much more, and it took Yuugi's breath away, made him putty in Kaiba's arms. Very eager and responsive putty.

By the time the young businessman pulled back, Yuugi's knees were too weak to stand on his own, so Kaiba had to hold him up. "I'm sure, after living with you for the last week, that you're not someone I count as just an 'acquaintance' or just a 'friend'. I'm still sorting it out, but in the meantime—you're mine. So, Seto," the older of the two informed him in his forceful, pretty much emotionless way.

With a little chuckle, the smaller teen said, "I understand...Seto. Thank you."

"I'm not so sure you'll be thanking me when we get back to Domino and you see just what you're getting into," Seto snorted, releasing him and turning back towards where they'd parked the plane.

Yuugi followed him as he said wryly, "I'll be fine. I'm just glad I was wrong about anyone I was interested in not wanting to touch me with a ten-foot pole."

"You have another comparison?" the older teen asked in mild amusement as Yuugi caught up to him—and linked their arms together.

Strangely, Seto Kaiba didn't feel like he had to pull away from the touch, which made Yuugi smile with the realization he'd really been allowed in to the other teen's heart. Even if it was just a little bit at first, it was a start, and it made him happy to know he really had a chance.

"Well, Anzu, and Mai, I'd had crushes on them, too, but they were pretty short-lived. You're both the longest-running one, and the most recent. I don't want this to be 'just a crush', so if you want to try, that's fine—I want to, too."

Kaiba snorted and replied, "You had bad taste back then. But I'm possessive, I hope you know."

Yuugi hummed in agreement, still smiling wryly. "I could tell as soon as I met you."

"Most people would be turned off from me by our previous interactions."

"I'm not most people."

A snort was his only answer until they were in the plane and back on their way to Japan.

"Let's see what you think after you spend a night with me which isn't—chaste."

"I look forward to finding out."

"Then I'm kidnapping you for another night before letting you go home."

"That's fine. Thank you."

The smaller teen just smiled happily as the older one howled with laughter at Yuugi's responses to what anyone else would have thought were threats. He was beginning to realize just how different the smaller teen was, and somehow found it more attractive than he'd thought possible.

One thing was for sure—the next several months would be _very_ interesting, even without killer, time-traveling lizards to worry about.


	24. Notice

This is just to let people know that I went back to fix a few things in this story, mostly at the end, where I added a bit to the end of chapter 22 in order to clarify more of the success of the attack Yuugi and Seto launched on the 'thirteen families of lizard-people' and to the epilogue in the Yuugi/Seto section to make Seto's actions a little less sudden or unexpected (I hope).

Since some people have asked, no, I don't have a sequel to this story planned (that would be decades down the road in their time, and I just don't feel up to imagining how their lives would be that far in the future), but anyone who has ideas about how this could go, feel free to write and post them. Just please let me know you did so I can read it!


End file.
